Joined Through a Mind
by laced-with-fire
Summary: Nightmares, weapons and the girl he left behind. Bad summary I know. References to DoctorOC, RoseDoctor and JackOC My first Fanfic, reviews and constructive criticism appreciated NO FLAMING.
1. Nightmares

**A/N: Hi, this is a random idea that wandered into my brain, I'm not sure where it's going and will probably decide if it continues through reviews. So here goes...**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Doctor Who or any of the original characters blah blah blah **

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The TARDIS spun through the time space vortex, and within it, the Doctor, Rose and Jack slept.

While Rose and Jack slept peacefully, the Doctor dreamed.

It was raining, and dark. Most people were inside, and those that weren't avoided this area. He instinctively knew which of the dark alleys he should turn down, knew that was where he would find her.

The sound of running feet told him that he had found her. As he turned a corner in the alley he saw what he knew he would, it had been the same for the past three nights. Two girls, fighting the creature with all their strength. They worked as a team, coming at it from different sides, perfectly coordinated, but not speaking. A deadly dance, silent except for the occasional grunt or cry. The dance, as he had always liked to call it, was beautiful and hypnotic. Both using their preferred weapons with skill, the metal of the swords and sai blades flashing in the night.

The Doctor watched as he always did, knowing they couldn't see him. He expected the fight to go as it always did; the girls would beat the creature, and return to where they were living that night. Each night this happened, the Doctor found something different to admire about them. One night it was the co-ordination, the next, strength. Tonight it was their combat skills.

But this night it was different, the creature was stronger, the girls were struggling to beat it. Both of them had taken several blows and the blonde one was limping badly. Although the Doctor felt bad about it, he was glad that it was her and not the dark haired one. He didn't want her to get hurt, even after all these years, she was still precious to him.

A roar from the creature jerked the Doctor out of his thoughts. He looked up to see both girls plunge their weapons into it at the same time. The dark haired girl pulled her sai blades free and was pushed away by the creature, she fell against the wall and lay there stunned. But the other girl was struggling to pull her sword free. Despite his efforts, the Doctor could not see what happened, all he heard was a scream as the creature fell to the ground.

The Doctor was surprised to find his hands shaking, he wanted to go and help, but knew he couldn't. He couldn't even brush the dark hair away from the face of the girl at the side of the alley to see if she was ok. He was relieved when she stirred and sat up. He watched as she picked up her sai blades from where they had fallen, and put one into the sheath at her side. Slowly she got up, wincing at some pain from either the fight or the fall. However, her pain was soon forgotten as she caught sight of her companion, she ran across to where the girl lay face down near the creature. The Doctor felt his hearts jerk as her anguished cry rang out. Looking down he saw why, the body of the girl in her arms was limp, blood from the slash in her throat ran down into her hair and pooled onto the concrete which she lay. The creature was dead, but it had taken her with it.

The sound of sirens had started and was growing louder, heading towards the alley. Someone must have heard the fight. The girl raised her head, the dark hair falling from her face. Carefully she laid her friend's body down; the Doctor could hear her frantic whispering. "I'm sorry; I have to leave you here. I'll kill every last one of them, I swear." Gently she kissed the blonde head, and was gone, thrusting the other sai into its sheath and picking up the discarded sword as she went.

The Doctor followed her as she ran down the twisting streets, avoiding the police that were heading towards the alley. However, he knew that they would only find the outstretched body of the blonde girl. He had seen another creature slinking from the shadows towards the bodies as he left the alley; he knew it would take the body, leaving the police with no clue as to how the girl had met her death.

The Doctor ran after the other girl as she moved through the shadows, not slowing until she came to what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. He only just managed to slip in behind her as she slammed the door, it may have been a dream, but he didn't fancy trying to walk through a door. She stood for a moment with her back against the door, before sliding to the floor and breaking down as the nights events caught up with her. The Doctor could feel her sobs, so full of pain and fear, tearing into his hearts, into his very soul. He longed to touch her, to hold her. To cradle the shaking girl in his arms and whisper reassuring words to her. But he couldn't, that was the bad thing about these dreams, he wasn't corporeal in them, he couldn't touch anything. That annoyed the hell out of him.

He crouched down in front of her; maybe she might sense the friendly presence, unlikely, but it was worth a try. It almost shocked him that the girl, who had, only a short while ago been wielding a pair of sai blades with deadly intent and results, was now reduced to a child, curled against the wall in the cold warehouse.

He was even more shocked when she raised her head, looked directly into his eyes and spoke two words.

"Help me".


	2. Awakening

**AN: Ok next chapter, I know I only have 2 reviews and thats not real good, but I'm gonna carry on anyway**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Doctor Who or the original charachters yadda yadda...**

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Rose awoke to the cry from the Doctor's room; pulling back the covers, she went to see what was wrong. What she saw when she pushed open the door both shocked and frightened her. The Doctor was thrashing about and hyperventilating, he almost appeared to be having a fit of some sort. She ran to the bed, calling for Jack as she did so.

"Rose, what's wro- oh that's not good" he was across the room in two strides. "What happened?"

"I dunno, I just came in and he was like this. What do we do, Jack?" She was desperately trying to hold the Doctor's head and prevent him hurting himself. Jack was trying to hold the Doctor's shoulders and body while trying to assess the situation, which was proving to be a bit difficult. For a guy who seemed to be nothing but skin and bone, the Doctor was seriously strong. This opinion was not changed by the fact that Jack suddenly found himself on the floor due to a blow on the side of the head. He cursed himself and made a mental note, in big bold letters to remember that people had arms, and holding their shoulders did not stop them from moving.

As he stood, he saw Rose fling herself over the Doctor's body in an effort to keep him still. Without warning, the violent struggles stopped and his breathing began to come in sobbing gasps. Rose tentatively moved to kneel beside him and took his hand as he began to regain consciousness. With a shuddering breath, the Doctor opened his eyes, when he saw Rose's anxious face he began to gasp again, almost but not quite crying. Without saying a word, Rose gathered him into her arms and sat rocking him back and forth, like a mother with a frightened child. Jack watched as she stroked his head, while he gripped her hand as though it were a lifeline.

Quietly Jack slipped out of the room and made his way through the corridors to the medical room, he hated what he was about to do, but it had to be done. It didn't take him long to find a syringe and hypodermic needle, or to draw out some of the pearly liquid from the bottle. The only sedative that would work on a Time Lord and still allow the TARDIS to work. He stood for a moment, contemplating the syringe in his hand, recalling what the Doctor had said as he showed Jack and Rose the sedative. _"Only use it if absolutely necessary"_. They had asked him why, and he had not explained fully, only saying that it caused pain to whomever it was used on.

As he jogged back to the Doctor's room, Jack went over the instructions the Doctor had given for use of the sedative. _"It has to go into one of the blood vessels in the neck, and it has to go in slowly. That's part of what makes it such a bastard to use."_

Rose looked up as Jack entered the room, he could see by her eyes and by the Doctor's condition that the sedative was still the best idea. Rose saw the syringe in his hand and her eyes widened as she recognized its contents. "Do we have to give that to him?"

"I'm sorry Rose, but he needs to rest. He's exhausted and still not calm; this is all I can think of to help him." She lowered her eyes in consent and stretched out her hand. Jack handed her the syringe without a word.

Carefully Rose raised the Doctor's shoulders, allowing his head to fall back and expose his throat. It was then that he opened his eyes. Rose, the Doctor and Jack all had the same thought: _Oh shit._

The Doctor's only thought was to escape, to stop them giving him the drug that was one of his greatest fears. It wasn't so much the pain that he feared; it was the loss of control, the loss of thought. That drug had been used to torture him once, and the memories still haunted him.

Both Rose and Jack were unprepared for the Doctor as he threw himself off the bed and ran out of the door. He didn't get far; Jack caught up with him and grasped his arm. Ducking the wild punch, Jack hooked his foot behind the Doctors knee and forced him to the floor. Rose had followed them into the corridor and now knelt beside the Doctor's head as he struggled weakly against Jack, who was remembering to hold his wrists this time.

"Rose, please don't do this. Please" the Doctor was trying to stop her as she gently forced his head back, again exposing his throat.

"I'm sorry Doctor, it's for the best" tears ran down her cheeks as she pushed the needle beneath his skin and slowly pushed the plunger. The Doctor's pleas broke off in a hiss of pain and he began to writhe about. Eventually he went still.

They took him back to his room and settled him onto his bed. Although he couldn't move, he was still awake, the blue eyes open. Jack was concerned. "He's fighting it Rose, he won't let himself sleep"

"What can we do?"

"I don't know. I don't want to give him another dose, it could be dangerous"

"I'll stay with him until he's asleep, it might help if someone's here" Jack wasn't going to argue with her. He didn't know if her being there would help, but surely it wouldn't hurt. He left the room with a nod, he needed a coffee anyway.

When Jack had left, Rose sat on the bed beside the Doctor. She was worried, the Doctor was normally so strong, so secure. The only time she'd seen him really insecure was when they had come across the Dalek in Henry van Staten's underground bunker. But even that was nothing to what was happening now. Deciding that answers would have to come later she occupied herself with the current task of getting the Doctor to sleep. Lying down, Rose gently moved the Doctor so his head was resting just below her chest. She had heard somewhere that a heartbeat was meant to be soothing. Gently she stroked his head and spoke softly. "You have to sleep Doctor. It's ok, I'm here. Just let go." The Doctor could hear her words, could feel her heartbeat. It was soothing, but he was still frightened. He didn't want give in to the darkness that was closing in on his mind, even though he knew it was what he needed. The darkness was becoming more insistent, pushing its way into the rest of his mind. He tried to fight but he was so tired.

Rose looked down just in time to see a single tear trace its way down his cheek before his eyes closed and his mind sank into darkness.

Jack was in the kitchen, debating whether to take Rose a cup of tea or not, if he did it would be just his luck to bring the Doctor back from the verge of sleep. His dilemma was solved by Rose walking through the door.

"How is he?"

"Asleep" Jack didn't make the mistake of asking her if the Doctor was ok. She would most likely kill him, and he knew the answer anyway. That the Doctor was sleeping was good enough for now.

Rose looked tired, so Jack guided her to the sofa in the next room and sat down beside her. He put his arm around her, giving her reassurance that he didn't have himself. Gratefully she took a sip from his coffee when he offered it and curled up against him. They sat in silence for a while, eventually Rose spoke. "What do you think's wrong with him?"

"I don't know, but I would say it's probably something to do with the dreams he's been having over the past few nights. We've both heard him calling out, and he's been preoccupied afterwards. I guess it was worse tonight."

"But…if it was just a dream…how could a dream do that to him?" Rose shook her head in disbelief.

"No idea, he should be awake in a couple of hours. We can ask him about it then."

"'I wanna' stay with him" She extracted herself from his embrace and stood up. Jack didn't say anything, just nodded and sat back on the sofa. When Rose had left the room, he smiled and shook his head. It was obvious that there was a strong attraction; possibly love between the Doctor and Rose. It had been evident in the look he had received from the Doctor when he first entered the TARDIS, a look that plainly said _she's mine._

Rose lay down beside the Doctor on his bed, he head resting on his bare chest. She could hear the beat of his two hearts; it was calm now, and soothing to listen to. Idly she traced her fingers over the skin of his chest, feeling the ribs just below the surface, the muscles in his stomach. Somewhere in the depths of unconsciousness, the Doctor felt her touch and the darkness wasn't so unbearable any more.

When Jack looked in later, Rose had fallen asleep. Again, he smiled and shook his head, before silently leaving the room.

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**There we go, I love people who review, pretty pretty please (with ice cream and cookies on top)**  



	3. Her name was Bria

**AN: Hey guys, new chapter, thanks for the reviews. This ones kinda' short, but never mind.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it (I wish) blah blah blah**

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The Doctor woke to find Rose still asleep and using his chest as a pillow. He was relieved to be awake again. Even though the darkness hadn't been as bad as last time, it was still bad. He had needed to rest though, and the little voice of reason was telling him that the sedative had been the best way.

Rose stirred, distracting the Doctor. He looked down at her, she still wasn't awake. Carefully he moved his arm to circle her sleeping form, his fingers tracing circles on her arm in an unconscious imitation of her earlier actions.

Jack entered the room, the relief on his face when he saw the Doctor was evident. "Oh good, you're awake"

"State the obvious" came the reply, accompanied by a quick grin.

"Awake and in your usual morning mood, getting back to normal then." Jack said, letting the Doctor's sarcasm slip by just this once.

"Kind of normal anyway" a brief shadow pass across the Doctor's face as he said this, which did not escape Jack's notice. The shadow disappeared when the Doctor looked down at the still sleeping Rose. Jack only smiled yet again, they were definitely in love.

Rose stirred again, this time waking up to find both the Doctor and Jack looking down at her. "What?" she demanded, still half asleep. Suddenly she seemed to remember what had happened the previous night and looked up at the Doctor. "Oh, you're awake"

"So glad I'm not the only one who states the obvious" laughed Jack.

"She's still half asleep, what's your excuse?" demanded the Doctor.

"He's just daft" came the slightly less sleepy input from Rose.

"Hey, what is it, 'pick on Jack day' or something?" the ex-time agent threw up his hands in mock anger and began to back away towards the door.

"Love ya' really Captain" Rose called after him as he turned to leave.

"Yeah right, sure ya' do" came the still mock angry reply. "Anyway, it's breakfast time and I'm starving. You two coming?"

"In a sec" Rose turned to face the Doctor. "How are you feeling anyway?"

"OK, ta"

"Good, well I'm gonna' get dressed" she stood up and stretched, not noticing the Doctor's eyes pass quickly over her body.

When she had gone, the Doctor sat for a while, contemplating what had passed between him and Rose. There was something there; it had been communicated through their different caresses. Also, the way he had just looked at her, OK, so when human males did that it just meant their eyes were open. But he wasn't human.

He shrugged off the thought and got out of bed.

Jack had used his newfound cooking skills to produce bacon sandwiches. He had been fascinated by cooking and everything to do with it, having come from a time where there was no need for humans to do their own cooking. He now took any chance he could get to make food.

As they finished breakfast, Rose threw a glance at Jack. He nodded and sat forwards in his chair. "So, Doctor, what was going on last night?"

The Doctor drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, as though gathering his thoughts. Finally, he seemed to be ready, Rose noted that he had his serious face on, with no trace of the normal grin.

"The dreams I've been having for a few nights, it's to do with those."

"But if it's only dreams…" Rose couldn't stop herself from interrupting.

The Doctor waved his hand in am impatient gesture. "That's the thing though, their not _only _dreams. It's a connection with another mind." Seeing that both Rose and Jack looked confused, the Doctor carried on. "Oh yeah, I forgot, silly me, you humans wouldn't know. Ok, well Time Lords are telepathic. So, as well as communicating with other Time Lords, it allowed us to have mind links with each other."

"But there are no other Time Lords" it was Jack who interrupted this time.

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me Captain. But you don't understand this link isn't with a Time Lord"

"Then who?"

The Doctor sat back in his seat before replying. "Last time I saw her, her name was Bria."


	4. First impressions

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry it's been a while since I updated. Thanks to those really cool people who reviewed, espescially my favourite people who review more than once. Anyways, on with the new chapter, it's a bit longer than the others, hope ya all like.**

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Jack and Rose looked at each other, and then back at the Doctor. The glances were a mixture of confusion, questioning, and in Jack's case, slightly amused.

"Her?" he said, a slight twinkle in his eyes.

"Yes, her. What's so funny?" demanded the Doctor.

"Nothing" came the drawling, singsong reply. The Doctor was just about to form a cutting, slightly hotheaded reply when Rose cut in.

"Alright you two, no arguing." When both Jack and the Doctor sat back in their chairs, she continued. "The point is, what is it with this girl that's got you so worked up?"

The Doctor sat forward again. "I met her a long time ago, it was then we formed the mind link. Recently I've been having these dreams of her, it was always the same. She and another girl were fighting an alien of some kind, they'd win, then leave." His features became troubled and he looked up. "But last night it was different, the alien died, but so did the other girl. Bria saw me last night, she never has before. She asked me to help her."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Jack said.

"I have no idea," the Doctor said, standing up "Let's go." He got up and moved towards the control room of the TARDIS, followed by Rose and Jack.

They stepped out of the TARDIS into a dark street. "Where are we, Doctor?" asked Rose.

"London, 2008." The Doctor did not even make his usual show of looking at his watch to check the point in time. A point noticed by both Rose and Jack, who exchanged a glance behind the Doctor's back.

"Not very far from home then" murmured Rose.

"It's on the other side of London," came the reply. The Doctor seemed to be distracted; he was turning his head from side to side and appeared to be looking for something.

Jack stepped forward "Doctor?"

"Shh." Came the irritated reply. "I'm trying to find her. Hang on a sec, I'm gonna try something, stay back and don't disturb me." Jack and Rose stood back and watched as the Doctor closed his eyes and his breathing began to slow. He stood completely still for about five minutes. Rose was getting fidgety, she didn't like being in the dark street. Jack was on high alert; he knew instinctively that this part of London wasn't safe.

Suddenly, the Doctor's eyes opened and he turned to face them. "I've found her, come on, let's go." Not waiting for a reply, he turned and ran towards an alley on the other side of the street. His companions had no choice but to follow as quickly as they could.

At the end of the alley there was a ladder attached to the side of a building. Without hesitation, the Doctor began to climb. Jack and Rose reached the bottom of the ladder and Jack ushered Rose up in front of him. He wanted to keep an eye on her, and he soon decided having her above him on the ladder had added bonuses in terms of the view.

They finally caught up with the Doctor at the edge of the building; he was standing by the ledge, looking down onto the street below. "Why have we come here, Doctor? Surely she's not on the roof." Jack questioned the Time Lord. It wasn't that he hated exercise, and he certainly didn't mind running after the Doctor. However, charging up to the top of a building required a reason.

"Nope, she's not on the roof," replied the Doctor, without looking at Jack. Rose, who had been catching her breath suddenly stood up at the answer. Unlike Jack, she objected to sudden, unplanned exercise, especially ladder climbing without reason.

"So you're tellin' me I just ran through the streets and climbed up a bloomin' ladder, and she's not even here?"

The Doctor sensed the oncoming storm and wisely turned to face her. "The idea of leaving your mother at home was so I didn't have to deal with the attacks. Anyway, I didn't bring you here for nothing; we can watch her from up here."

To prevent Rose from answering, Jack jumped in with a calmer version of the question on her lips. "OK then, where is she?"

The Doctor looked down onto the street again, after a second he pointed. "There, standing on the bridge." Jack looked, and then he looked again, this time studying her. She was beautiful, but not the classic beauty seen in models who, in his opinion all looked the same. Long dark hair hung down her back and framed the strong face; it was the strength that gave her the beauty.

Turning his attention to the rest of her, he could tell that she was slim, even under the long black jumper or coat she was wearing.

"So that's Bria?" Jack turned to see the Doctor nod.

"It's a good name"

"Yup, always thought it suited her"

"Suited her how?"

"It's a Celtic name; it means somethin' along the lines of honourable warrior. You'll see how she lives up to it later."

Even though she appeared to be looking at nothing in particular, Jack's military training allowed him to tell that she observing something. He looked to where her gaze kept flicking. It was a bend in the street, there was nothing there, but she seemed to be expecting something.

"Do you have any idea what she's doing?" He asked the Doctor.

"She's waiting for something or someone; she probably heard them a long time ago."

"Heightened hearing?"

"Not just her hearing, all her senses are excellent. Including her sixth sense."

"Sixth sense?" Rose looked interested.

"Yup, hopefully you'll see her use it later. Ooh look" he pointed to Bria, who had begun to move from the edge of the bridge. As she did, a group of youths came round the corner she had been watching. The three on the rooftop watched as Bria moved across the street so she was walking just ahead of them.

Jack noticed that her body language had changed completely. She no longer appeared alert; her head was down, her arms wrapped about herself. One of the youths gestured to the others, and they began to move with a purpose, following Bria as she walked along the street.

"Doctor" Jack's voice had wary tones to it. He made as if to move away, only to find his arm in a firm grip.

"Wait" the Doctor was still watching the events unfolding on the street below. Jack noted the authority in his voice, he complied but he was ready to run. He turned back to watch.

Bria appeared to notice she was being followed and quickened her pace. When the youths did too, she began to run. She turned into the alley at the base of the building they stood on and began to run down it.

The Doctor ran to the end of the building, keeping directly above her. Jack and Rose followed him. When they caught up with him, Jack grasped the Doctor's arm. "Doctor, look at what's happening. She's trapped" he looked down at where the youths were advancing slowly towards Bria, who crouched at the end of the alley like a frightened animal. "Doctor, we have to help her. If we don't, chances are she's going to be raped and possibly killed."

Again, the Doctor did not look up from the alley. "Remember what her name means, Captain. She knows what she's doing."

"But there's six of them and they're all bigger than her. There's no way she can fight them all, even if she is a warrior of some kind."

"Just watch." Jack sighed and turned back to the ally.

The youths stopped a few meters away from Bria and the one who had gestured towards her in the street stepped forwards, he was obviously the leader. She watched an evil grin form on his face as he moved slowly towards her, confident in his role as the predator.

"Stand up babe, no fun if you're down there" almost gently, he took her shoulders and pulled her up, pushing her against the wall. He moved closer, caressing her neck. She stood stock still as he unzipped the long jumper she was wearing, revealing the top underneath. Catcalls and whistles rang out from the youths as they saw the tight, red top, with a ribbon holding the top of it closed. Slowly and deliberately, the youth moved his hand to the ribbon.

Thinking that she was helpless, he was unprepared for the sudden grip on his wrist that tightened like an iron band. He barely had time to swear before Bria had twisted his arm and forced him to his knees, before pushing him into the wall.

Far above the alley, the Doctor and his two companions heard the sickening crack as Bria wrenched the leader's arm from its socket. The Doctor had regained his normal bouncing demeanour, and was grinning as he spoke. "See, Captain?"

"Impressive, but she's still got five more."

"This should be fantastic"

"Why?" Rose spoke for the first time since they had seen Bria.

The Doctor replied, still grinning. "It's gonna' be fantastic 'cos I love seeing bullies get beaten." Again, they turned to watch the events in the alley.

The remaining five youths had spread out to surround Bria as she threw their leader to the ground. Jack noticed that they were using a classic fight mode; surround the opponent then fight one at a time. The normal objective was to wear the opponent down while allowing each person to have a rest between attacks, however they appeared to use it just to gain a good view as each took his turn.

One by one, they moved forward, and one by one, they were beaten. Bria blocked attacks with impressive reflexes, before moving in with an attack of her own. She was as the Doctor remembered her, vicious and precise. Each opponent she had fought was sprawled on the floor, unconscious.

Jack was impressed; she appeared to be taking out the youths with ease, trading blows for no more than a minute before rendering her opponent unconscious, usually with a hefty kick to the head. However, he also noticed that she appeared to be breathing heavily, and wincing if she took in a deep breath.

Rose was also impressed; she had attended one self-defence lesson when they were doing it in P.E at school, before deciding that it was better to go to the shops with Shareen. Life with the Doctor sometimes made her wish she had attended more lessons.

The Doctor had also seen Bria wince, and hoped that she would last this out. He was slightly concerned when the last two youths decided to use a different tactic. They moved so that she was between them, before both drawing knives from beneath their jackets.

On the rooftop, Jack tensed as he saw the long, gleaming weapons. He was slightly confused when he saw Bria's expression. Her head was lowered, but as she raised it, a smile spread slowly across her features.

Almost lazily, she reached back under her jumper: pulling her hands out, she revealed the sai blades. The youths looked a little apprehensive as Bria spun the weapons with skill, so that the blades were against her arms.

The youths attacked together, intent on bringing her down. She blocked the knives, managing to send one of her attackers reeling with a swift blow from the hilt of the blade. Jack winced as he saw the blade thud into where it hurt most.

The fight took a turn for the worst as one of the youths managed to slam his fist into her ribs. Bria cried out and stumbled, her arm moving protectively across her ribs. The other youth took advantage of her distraction to grasp her arms and pull the blades from her hands. Savagely he pushed her against the wall, standing behind her and pinning her arm against her sides.

Both Jack and the Doctor began to get concerned; they could see Bria grimace and choke back a cry of pain as the youth began to tighten the circle of his arms.

Bria fought to clear her head from the pain, knowing that while it was this bad there was no point in fighting back. The youth began to talk, shoving his face close to hers. "You're a feisty little bitch, ain't you? Well let's bring you down a bit." He spun round, taking her with him. The other youth held his knife and moved towards them.

Bria struggled, but the pain in her ribs slowed her. She saw the knife and the look in his eyes; she could see that they did not mean to kill her instantly, but to cause as much pain as possible.

On the roof, both Time Lord and ex-Time Agent clenched their fists. They could also see the intention of the youths. The Doctor knew to wait, he still trusted Bria. Jack had resigned himself to wait as the Doctor had instructed.

Bria had gone still and the youth moved towards her. As he raised the knife, she kicked up with both feet, sending him back. His head slammed onto the concrete and he lay still. The youth holding her had been thrown off balance and let go. Bria rolled as she hit the ground and retrieved her fallen blades. She crouched as the youth ran at her and drove the hilt of the bade into his stomach. As he doubled over in pain, she brought the side of her other blade into the side of his head. He dropped like a stone and lay without moving.

On the rooftop, Jack turned to the Doctor, "OK, you were right. What now?"

"Wait a sec." Came the reply. Jack turned back to the alley as the Doctor made a slight gesture.

Bria stood for a moment amongst the youths, catching her breath. A movement caught her eye; it was the leader of the pack. He was pulling himself into a sitting position against the wall, cradling his dislocated arm against his chest.

Bria smiled as she sheathed one of her sai blades. Slowly, she walked towards the youth. It was not a normal walk, but a predatory stalking motion. Rose thought she resembled one of the tigers at London Zoo.

The youth saw her coming and began to whimper. She stopped just in front of him and crouched down, holding the sai blade she carried to his throat. Gently she caressed his cheek with her other hand. When she spoke, it was in a low, whispering tone that still carried clearly to those observing from the roof. It spoke of an underlying danger.

"Oh, poor thing, so scared. I can smell the fear coming from you." A small smile formed on her face, but did not reach her eyes. "Don't you think it's ironic that you attacked me, and now it's you cowering in the corner? You see your friends?" he nodded, whimpering. Bria continued. "Good, now you're going to listen and listen well, then you're going to tell them what I've said. That is the only reason you're still conscious. You and all your little friends are going to behave yourselves in future. I don't kill needlessly, but I am a killer. If you even go near another unwilling girl again, I will hear about it, and believe me, when I do, I will hunt you down and kill you. Have I made myself crystal clear?" Again, the terrified youth nodded, and again Bria smiled.

"Good. Now scram."

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**Well there ya go, pretty pretty please review, my eternal thanks to those who do.**  



	5. Vrexian

**A/N: Hello again. Well heres the next chapter. Thanks to my really cool beta Briar Elwood for picking up a few mistakes and helping with the title, I couldn't think of one. Go read Briar's stories, they're really good. Here goes then, hope ya like. I apologise if my history isn't perfect.  
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**Disclaimer: yawn don't own it**

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The youth jumped up and bolted from the alley, leaving the other members of his gang unconscious, they could help themselves. For now, all he cared about was getting home to his mum.

Bria sheathed the other sai blade, and then stood up. Smiling, she stretched and began to walk towards the street. On the roof, the Doctor grinned broadly at the other two, a grin that clearly said; _see I was right_. Jack got the message and smiled back, "OK, Doctor, you were right. She's good. What now?"

"Now, we talk to her. One sec." Jack and Rose both jumped as they heard his voice in their heads. _Bria_.

Down in the alley, Bria had stopped in her tracks, she had heard. She moved her head from side to side as though trying to determine where the sound had come from. Again, the Doctor's voice sounded in his companions' heads.

_It's me, Bria._

_Doctor? _The reply came, slightly uncertain.

_Yup_

_It's not safe here_

Bria began to run towards the street and turned a corner out of sight. Jack and Rose turned to the Doctor. "I take it that was the mind link," Jack said.

"One aspect of it anyway"

"Umm, Doctor" Rose spoke up "What are we going to do now? Bria's kinda' disappeared."

"We go where she told us to go."

"Huh?" Rose and Jack spoke at the same time, confusion clearly written across their faces.

"She told me where to find her"

"What like, she sent you a mental map?" Rose was curious.

"More like a picture of where we're going and a feeling of how to get there. Come on, let's go." He turned and headed for the ladder with Jack and Rose close behind.

As they headed towards their destination, Jack spoke. "OK, two questions." The doctor made a grunting sound in reply, so Jack continued. "Firstly, where the heck are we going?"

"An abandoned warehouse not far from here, second question?"

"Why could Rose and me both hear the thoughts that passed between you and Bria?"

"I projected them so you were included." The Doctor stopped a couple of meters from a large building "This is it."

Jack looked at the building. It was no different to the other warehouses in the area, apart from the fact that the door was slightly ajar. His first thought was that leaving the door open was asking for trouble; he shrugged the thought away with the realization that Bria was probably capable of dealing with unwanted visitors.

The Doctor lead the way into the warehouse and the others followed, looking around as they entered. They found themselves standing in a large space, the concrete floor was dusty and grey. There were deep shadows around the edge of the room, cast by the supporting pillars in the dim light from the single lamp that hung from the ceiling.

Bria, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is she, Doctor?" Jack asked softly. He was feeling edgy, there were places for people to hide here and Bria wasn't around. Neither of these facts registered under good news.

"I don't know, she's closed her mind off to me, I can't find her."

"Um, excuse me?" Rose's voice had a high-pitched tone of worry to it as she spoke in a furious whisper. "Can't find her?"

"Does it worry you that you can't see me?" Bria's voice came from the shadows, a hint of amusement in her tone.

Suddenly the Doctor gasped in pain and clutched at his head. Rose and Jack ran to his side, worry etched on both their faces. The Doctor waved them off and stood straight again, taking in a deep breath as he did so. Jack was on high alert now; in his experience, it never turned out well when people invited you in and refused to show themselves, or when a companion suddenly experienced pains.

"Doctor what was that?" Rose looked at the shadows, trying to see Bria.

"That was Bria's way of telling me she's not very happy with me." The reply was low and tinged with pain. The Doctor motioned for the others to stay where they were and stepped forward. "It's not like you to attack without warning from the shadows, Bria."

"Normally I wouldn't. You however, Doctor, merit special treatment." Rose and Jack jumped slightly as Bria's voice came from behind them. They turned to see her emerge from the shadows. She walked across the room towards the Doctor, her entire attention focused on him. Jack watched her move, and despite the fact that she had just attacked the Doctor, he was captivated. She walked with the same motion as a cat, and Jack suspected, that like a cat, her claws were just below the surface and permanently ready for action.

"Thanks for the special treatment, but why me?"

"The surprise is because you left me without warning"

"And the mental slap?" as soon as he said it, the Doctor clutched his head in pain again. "OK, that one hurt" Rose could not help but smile slightly as she recognized the same tone of voice that had been present after her mother had slapped him.

"You should be thankful, Doctor" all traces of amusement had left Bria's tone. "That was nothing compared to the consequences I suffered when you left." She seemed to have vented her anger, her eyes lowered and she turned her head away. Jack could see her face; she appeared to be remembering something, her dark eyes seeing events from the past. The Doctor move towards her, concern on his face.

"What consequences?"

Bria shook her head, still not looking up. "Not now, for now I'm just glad you came." She took a deep breath and shook her head again as though to remove the last vestiges of the memory. "Who are your friends?"

The Doctor gestured the others forward. Jack had decided that, as the Doctor wasn't concerned there was no need for him to be, and besides, he wanted to get to know this girl. Rose was a little more wary, not only because Bria had attacked the Doctor, but there was obviously a history between them.

The Doctor motioned to Rose first. "This is Rose Tyler, my traveling companion." Bria smiled and nodded politely, the Doctor motioned to Jack. "This is-"

"Captain Jack Harkness, pleased to meet you" Jack jumped in, giving his most friendly smile. Bria appeared to relax and smiled back, glancing at the Doctor out of the corner of her eye. The Doctor merely rolled is eyes.

"Good to meet you too. Now I'm starving, are you hungry?" All three nodded "OK, I need to get changed then we can go and get something. Pizza sound good?" again they nodded. "OK wait here." She walked off, leaving the companions alone.

Rose and Jack turned to the Doctor. "What was with the sudden mood changes?" Rose asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well first she was attacking you, then she was upset, then she was fine."

"Bria's always had fast mood changes, but this is the fastest I've seen her go from angry to fine. It's gotta' be something to do with the 'consequences' she mentioned."

"And what was with the head pain?" Jack asked.

"That was the equivalent of a very hard slap. Bria has the advantage of being able to attack from a distance."

Rose smirked "And I thought my mum hit you hard."

"Oh believe me that was worse than your mother."

"Just remind me never to annoy …" Jack stopped in mid sentence. Rose and the Doctor followed his line of sight; a broad grin immediately fixed itself on the Doctor's face as he saw why Jack had stopped talking.

Bria had walked into the room. She was wearing tight, dark jeans that drew attention to long, powerful legs. However, Jack's eyes were not on her legs. He was looking instead, at the leather corset she wore. Jack found himself catching his breath as he took in the black leather, split up the front over her stomach, the gap laced with red ribbon. Beneath the corset, Jack could see pale, creamy skin and elegant curves.

Jack was jolted out of his daze by a sharp jab to the ribs; he turned to see Rose grinning broadly. Realising his mouth was open, he quickly shut it.

Hiding her smile, Bria walked towards the door, no longer predatory. Jack watched her hips sway as she moved and felt his throat go dry. He wasn't sure if the long black jumper she was wearing was a good or bad idea. It was open, revealing her front, but concealed her back. However, it left his imagination to work.

Bria led them through the streets until they came to a row of shops. "Well there's the pizza place, any preferences?" Both the Doctor and Jack shrugged, neither having much experience with pizza.

"Ooh, meat feast" Rose suggested.

"Ok, cool. Wait here." Bria began to walk towards the shop.

"Do you need money?" the Doctor called after her.

Bria merely smiled at him over her shoulder and shook her head. "Nope."

They watched as she walked across the street. The two men noticed with a twinge of jealousy that the men behind the counter had noticed Bria. As she entered the shop, more men came out from the back. The three companions could hear them chattering in Italian. Jack and Rose were surprised to hear Bria replying in fluent Italian.

"She speaks Italian?" Jack asked

"Along with about five other languages."

"Um, Doctor, why can we hear Italian, not English?" she was surprised when the Doctor laughed.

"The TARDIS is getting picky in her old age, she…well, she doesn't like translating, um, certain kinds of conversation."

"What kind of conversation would that be?" Jack asked. He watched as she tossed her hair, catching the attention of all the men in the shop.

"Oh come on, Captain, look at what's going on. Your not so naïve that you can't figure out the sort of things they're saying are you? The TARDIS is connected to all of us. If she thinks the conversation might upset us without reason, then she won't translate."

Jack's hotheaded reply was cut off as Bria came out of the shop and headed towards them, bearing a bag containing two large pizza boxes and two paper bags.

"What's in the bags?" asked Jack.

"Chips."

"How much did it cost you?" The Doctor asked.

"Nothing" came the reply accompanied by a grin. Bria led them back through the streets. Rose went to walk beside her, Jack and the Doctor followed behind.

"How did you get all that for free?" Rose was curious.

"It's easy when you know how. Mainly it's flirting, the boys in there are so busy trying to impress that they don't charge. Can be quite funny at times."

"So basically, it's typical men. Thinking with their…um…"

"Wedding tackle?" Bria offered.

"Yeah." Rose only just managed to get the word out before both girls broke out into fits of laughter.

"What's so funny?" The Doctor inquired, coming up behind them. One glance at the men only served to make the girls laugh harder.

"What?" Jack was confused. The Doctor took his arm and drew him back.

"I don't think we're gonna' get much sense from them. Let's just be thankful that they're getting along."

Finally, they stopped laughing just as they reached the warehouse. Once they were all inside, Bria led them up a flight of stairs to a room, with two sofas, a fridge, a shelf with some glasses on it, and a small table. A short while later, they were seated and tucking in to pizza, chips and orange juice from the fridge.

As they finished, the Doctor leaned forward in his seat. "So why did you ask for my help?"

Bria rose from the sofa and gathered the empty boxes and bags from the table. She carried them to the bin and dropped them inside, before turning to answer. "I need your help in destroying the things we were fighting."

"Why me?"

"You saw what happened the night I asked for help. It killed Kira, I can't fight the ones that come after me now on my own. I don't even know what they actually are. All I know is that they were hunting us, now they'll be coming after me."

"Have they attacked since Kira was killed?"

"No, but that's always the way. When someone dies, they wait for about two weeks before starting to hunt again."

The Doctor sat back in the chair before replying. "OK, I'm gonna' help. There's probably some information in the library on the TARDIS."

"I'll help too." Said Rose.

"And me." Jack was not to be left out.

"Thank you" Bria smiled appreciatively. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to change, this top is only comfortable for so long. Feel free to explore."

When she had gone, the Doctor stood. "May as well take up the offer."

As they walked through the warehouse, Jack turned to the Doctor. "So, where did you meet Bria then?"

"Or should that be when?" Rose interjected.

The Doctor nodded. "Both good questions actually. I met her somewhere in England, not entirely sure where though."

"How could you not know where you were?" Rose was incredulous.

"Hey, not my fault. It all looked the same. Mainly trees, some open spaces and a few settlements."

Jack's expression was confused "OK, Doctor, I'm not an expert on Earth history 'cos I never went to class at school. But even I know that it's been a long time since England was like what you just described. When the hell did you meet her?"

"Not long before the Romans left, so about 51 AD."

Jack's mouth dropped open.

Rose pushed Jack's chin up and turned to the Doctor. "So is she a time traveler too?"

"Nope" He could not stop himself from laughing as Jack's mouth dropped open again, this time Rose joined him. "You seem to be spending quite a bit of time with your mouth hanging open at the moment, Captain. I'm sure Bria was flattered, but I'm really not."

Jack recovered his composure enough to mutter something under his breath before asking his next question. "OK, so you met her almost two-thousand years ago if you go by Earth time. So how did she survive, and why does she look about eighteen?"

"Bria is a Vrexian, from the planet Vrexia. Quite a nice planet actually, as long as you're not on the wrong side of the occupants. Bria came to Earth with one of the clans, some of them scattered to other countries, and some stayed in England. They fitted in well with the Celts, or Woads, depending on which side you were on."

"Why did they fit in so well?" Jack asked.

"Warrior race. They introduced quite a few fighting techniques."

"OK, so she's an alien." Rose said. "But why does she only look eighteen?"

The Doctor seemed to be remembering something as he replied, his eyes seeing distant things. "Vrexians stop aging when they're fully mature, in Bria's case when she was eighteen. Then they live until they're killed. Simple really."

They continued walking along the corridors of the warehouse, talking about various things. As they neared a corner, Rose turned to the Doctor. "So how long did you stay with Bria then?"

The Doctor was about to reply when he stopped in his tracks, staring ahead with a look of horror on his face.

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**A/N: ooh cliffie, hope that makes you want to review. Oh yeah and there has been a nasty person going round flaming on lots of stories, if thats you then don't bother, constructive criticism yes, flames no.**  



	6. Consequence

**A/N: Hey people**, **heres the next chapter, I thought I better post it soon in case several people exploded, and also it's more interesting than revision. Hope ya like it. Thankyou to everyone who has been reviewing, you're my favourite people in the whole world.  
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**Disclaimer: dudes how many times do I have to say this? I DON'T OWN DOCTOR WHO! Bria, however, is mine. **

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Jack and Rose nearly crashed into the Doctor, as he stood frozen in place. They peered around him to see what he was staring at. What they saw both shocked and horrified them. Jack stood, very much like the Doctor in complete shock. Rose gasped and brought her hands to her mouth.

The room they were staring into was a bedroom containing no more than a single bed and a chair. However, it was not the room that held the companion's attention.

Bria stood in the centre of the room, her back to them. She had removed the jumper and corset, replacing them with a very small halter neck top that left her entire back and stomach bare. Her long hair hung down, concealing the upper half of her back. She heard Rose gasp and spun round to face them, crossing her arms over her front as she did so. The look on her face was a mixture of fear and sadness.

The Doctor approached her slowly, still shocked at what he had seen, half-hoping he had imagined it or the light had been playing tricks. Gently, he took her shoulders, she didn't resist as he turned her away from him. As they saw her back again, the cause of their shock was confirmed.

Bria's back was covered in scars.

The Doctor swept Bria's hair over her shoulder, revealing the rest of her back, also covered in scars. They were long and thin, running in several different directions. The Doctor ran his fingers over them, feeling the slightly raised white lines that now marred her skin. He could still remember the first time he had touched that skin; it had been pale, creamy and flawless. Like silk to the touch.

Bria just stood there as the Doctor ran his hands over the scars she had hidden. She didn't know if she had been planning to show him, but they had caught her unawares, when she had been so absorbed in her memories that she hadn't noticed them approach.

Jack watched Bria's face, her eyes were lowered and she appeared to be fighting back tears. He stepped forward and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. He could feel the scars, there were so many.

"Doctor, what caused these?"

"Whip marks." He looked at Bria's face, her eyes still lowered. "You were flogged weren't you?" Bria only nodded in response.

"Flogged?" Jack was shocked; he had seen a whip once in a museum but had never known how much damage could be done.

"Why?" Rose couldn't understand who would have cause to do this to a girl who was still technically only eighteen.

Bria's eyes snapped open dark with a fury from deep within her. "The Romans attacked the village I was living at. They wanted the Doctor, I'm not sure why. They thought I could tell them where he was."

"Oh, Bria, I'm so sorry. If I'd known…"

"Then you still would have gone, because that's what you do. You can't stay in one place for too long. You're not made that way."

Bria winced and hissed in pain as the Doctor's hand moved across her side. The Doctor moved his hand and saw the dark bruise on her ribs. "What happened?"

"It's where I was thrown against the wall, the night Kira was killed. The only reason why the bastards I was fighting earlier got the upper hand."

Jack had moved round to stand in front of Bria, now something caught his eye. Just below the point where her ribs met in the middle was another scar. This one a word that had been carved into her skin. "What does 'TRISTA' mean?" he asked, running his thumb over the word.

The Doctor looked up sharply. "Trista? Doesn't that mean-"

"Sorrow, it's Latin for sorrow." Bria's voice was quiet.

"Why would they cut a word that meant sorrow into you?" Rose asked, moving round to see the word.

"They said I had brought it on everyone, that the destruction of the village was my fault."

The Doctor looked up. "It wasn't your fault, if anything it was mine. I'm sorry, I can't change what happened. But I can do one thing to help."

"What's that?"

"It's a Time Lord thing. I can reverse what happened to your body; heal the scars and the injury to your ribs…" He trailed off.

"What's the catch?" a ghost of a smile flickered on Bria's face.

"Your body has to be taken back through what happened to it so that it can reach what it used to be. Each scar will turn back into an injury before becoming smooth skin again. So-"

"It will be like being flogged again" The statement was made with barely a trace of emotion. "Do it, I'm tired of these scars."

"OK. Jack, steady her. Rose be ready, this is gonna take a lot of energy. When I'm done I might not be very steady."

Rose nodded. Jack placed his hands on Bria's upper arms. Looking into her dark eyes, he could see the glimmer of hope that had been given to her at the opportunity of having this reminder of her painful past removed.

The Doctor placed his hands on Bria's back. He concentrated until there was nothing else but him and Bria; this was the most crucial part. His heartbeats changed to match hers as did his breathing. Through this, his breathing would be under his control, he would use that to try to keep her calm. When his body was completely in tune with hers, he allowed his mind to re-surface, once again becoming aware of his surroundings.

His hands began to glow faintly with the golden light of time. Rose could see the bruise on Bria's ribs disappear.

Jack was still looking into Bria's eyes when they flashed in pain. Looking down, he saw the word 'TRISTA' begin to turn from a thin white scar to cuts that welled up with blood. Seconds later, the cuts healed, leaving the skin flawless and smooth.

Moments later, both Bria and the Doctor gasped in pain. The crack of a whip could be heard, making Rose and Jack jump. "Doctor, what is that?" Jack was beginning to feel nervous.

"It's Bria; this process is causing her mind to re-live what happened. The sounds from her memories are projecting themselves. She doesn't know she's doing it."

He was right, Bria seemed to be unfocused. She was gripping Jack's arms, her grasp tightening each time the whip crack was heard. She was gasping, occasionally crying out in pain.

The Doctor was slightly worried; Bria appeared to be getting very distressed. She was almost hyperventilating, despite his efforts to keep her calm. He was almost finished. _Hang on, Bria. Just a little bit longer._

Rose looked at Bria's back; each time the crack sounded, one of the scars would turn into a wound, and then heal seconds later.

Finally, after one last resounding crack of the whip, the last wound healed. The Doctor removed his hands from Bria's back, now smooth and silky once more. Rose noticed his hands were shaking, he swayed on his feet and she moved to support him.

Jack caught Bria as she collapsed, unconscious. Cradling her in his arms, he felt for her pulse, it was steady. She was no longer hyperventilating either, just unconscious. Gently he scooped her up and carried her to the bed, trying not to concentrate on how soft her skin felt.

When he had placed Bria on the bed, Jack turned to the others. Rose was just about supporting the Doctor who appeared to be getting more unsteady. Jack moved to support him on the other side, his greater strength meaning that the Doctor was no longer in danger of ending up on the floor.

"We should get him to somewhere he can rest." Rose was clearly concerned.

"The other room?" Rose nodded in agreement and they set off, half dragging, half carrying the almost unconscious Doctor. When they reached the room where they had eaten, they carefully lowered him onto one of the sofas.

The Doctor's eyes opened. "Bria. How's Bria?"

"She's unconscious, but she seemed fine." Jack replied.

"Stay with her, Jack. Don't leave her alone."

"What about you?"

"I'm fine, just a bit drained, now go. Go on."

Jack jogged out of the room and Rose moved to sit beside the Doctor.

"How are you feeling?"

"That's twice you've asked me that in recent history, Rose Tyler. Once more and I'm gonna' declare something officially wrong with the universe." He paused for a moment before carrying on. "I'm OK, or at least I will be in a while. Healing those scars took more out of me than I thought. Took a bit out of Bria too."

"Will she be alright?"

"She should be, it might take a few hours for her to recover, I took a lot of her energy for the healing." His eyelids drooped a little and Rose decided to leave it for now.

"OK, Doctor, I think you should sleep."

"What a fantastic idea, but you should too." He shifted over and Rose lay down beside him. He wrapped his arms around her and she smiled up at him. He grinned at her before closing his eyes and falling almost instantly into a deep sleep.

Jack had entered Bria's room seconds after leaving the others. He had stood for a moment by her bed, where she lay as he had left her. She was still pale, although her cheeks had regained a little of their former delicate blush. The only sign of life about her was the steady rise and fall of her chest.

Gently, Jack placed a hand on her head, running tentative fingers through her hair. Moonlight shone through the window, making silvery patterns on the walls. He lifted a lock of hair, raising it into the path of the moonlight. He was amazed at the colours, several shades of brown, from almost black to coppery, mixed with gold. He moved his hand down to caress her face. Again, his breath caught in his throat as he ran his fingertips over her features. The long eyelashes, down over her cheek to her soft lips, down again to the curve of her neck.

He exhaled sharply and drew his hand away as though burned. He wouldn't move any lower. Jack may have been many things, but he wasn't foolish enough to place is hands where they were unlikely to be welcome. Especially on a girl as dangerous as Bria.

Breathing deeply, he regained the control he had been about to loose and pulled the chair nearer to the bed. Settling down, he satisfied himself with studying her from a distance. Eventually he slept.

It wasn't long before the peaceful sleep of the four people in the warehouse was disturbed.

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**A/N: well there we go, what did you think?**  



	7. Elysium

**A/N: Hello people. Well here's the next chapter. Hope ya like. Thankyou Briar for being my beta and for the title of the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: If I was making money out of this it would be on numbered pages and between the covers of a book. So there. **

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Jack woke to a gentle caress on his cheek, looking up, he saw Bria standing close beside him. For the third time he found his breath catching in his throat as she smiled down at him. "Bria, wha-" he began, only to find her fingers on his lips. 

"Shh." She bent closer, and fastened her mouth over his. Jack returned the kiss, feeling her body as he ran his hands up her ribs and over her back.

Bria moaned and Jack woke with a start, breathing heavily. He shook his head, slightly disturbed at his dream. He had never dreamt quite like that before, yes, his dreams had involved girls before, but never had they been so tangible. He could almost feel her lips on his again. Shaking his head he attempted to regain control before his thoughts put him in the need for a cold shower.

Bria moaned again and began to toss her head from side to side. Jack looked over at her, one of her hands was clenched on the pillow beside her head and her movements were becoming more frantic. Jack got up from his chair, moving towards the bed.

As he moved to touch Bria's hand, Jack was suddenly unable to breathe. He fell back, grasping his throat and choking, he noticed there was thick black smoke everywhere. Jack could smell the smoke from burning wood and the sickly odour of burning flesh. He could feel heat from flames and hear the roaring as fire consumed fuel, there was also screaming and fighting, and the sound of men laughing.

Vaguely, through stinging eyes, he could see Bria thrashing on her bed.

As Jack fell to his knees, overcome with lack of oxygen he heard a voice. It sounded like Bria, but it was so far away. "_Elysium, Elysium_." In his fogged mind, he wondered what it meant.

The Doctor jerked awake, nearly pushing Rose off the sofa as he did so. "Doctor, what the…"

"It's Bria, there's something wrong." Without another word, they got up from the sofa and sprinted down the corridor towards Bria's room.

What they saw as they approached the door shocked and surprised them both. Jack knelt on the floor grasping his throat, he seemed to be having trouble breathing. Bria was thrashing about and crying out as though in the throes of a nightmare.

Without hesitation, both the Doctor and Rose ran to Jack's side. As soon as they entered the room, they began to feel the same heat from a fire. Rose began to choke as they dragged Jack from the room, sitting him against the wall outside Bria's room.

Almost as soon as they exited the room, Rose found herself able to breathe again. Jack stopped choking and opened his eyes. Having seen he was Ok, the Doctor ran back into the room. He could feel the effects of what had taken Jack down, but it didn't affect him as it had his companions. _Weak apes _he thought briefly as he reached the bed.

"Stay back!" He ordered as Jack moved to re-enter the room. To his relief, Jack didn't question it, the memory of what had just happened still fresh in his mind.

The Doctor managed to pin Bria's flailing body with his own, while calling her name in a bid to bring her back from whatever terror was gripping her. When calling her didn't work, he decided on a different approach. Closing his eyes, he concentrated. _Bria, come back. Leave your terrors and come back to me. _

In his minds eye, the Doctor could see Bria, she was surrounded by darkness and reaching out to him, screaming all the time. He concentrated with all his will on grasping her outstretched hand and pulling her towards him.

Bria came awake, sobbing. The Doctor gathered her in his arms, rocking her back and forth. Rose and Jack watched from the doorway, both reminded of what had happened on the TARDIS earlier.

Eventually, Bria appeared to settle down, she stopped sobbing and merely nodded when the Doctor whispered something in her ear. The Doctor rose from the bed, leaving Bria sitting against the wall, staring into space, _or more accurately, time, _Jack thought as he watched her.

The Doctor walked out of the room and placed a hand on each of their shoulders, steering his companions back towards the other room. "What about Bria?" Rose asked.

"She'll be OK, we need to leave her for a bit. C'mon."

When they reached the other room, the Doctor turned to Jack. "What happened?"

"Not a clue, Bria Just started thrashing about, and all of a sudden I couldn't breathe, felt like I was choking on smoke."

"Smoke inhalation's nasty. I'd better check your lungs."

"Sonic screwdriver?" Jack queried.

"No by dunking you in cold water to see how long you can hold your breath. Of course with the sonic screwdriver. Now take your shirt off."

"I thought you'd never ask." Jack grinned.

"Don't get any ideas, and you can stop laughing right now, Rose Tyler!" Rose looked up from where she was sitting behind him on the sofa and managed to keep a straight face for all of five seconds before a broad grin broke across her face and she bent over, giggling.

Her giggles broke off when she was hit on the head by Jack's shirt. She looked up to find the Doctor grinning at her and Jack chuckling. Rose stuck her tongue out at them both and sat back in her seat.

The Doctor ran the sonic screwdriver over Jack's chest and was surprised by the results. Jack noticed the surprise on the Doctor's face. "What's wrong?" He asked, slightly worried.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing."

"Then why the face?" Rose asked.

"I would have expected some damage, considering the breathing difficulties. But there's absolutely nothing wrong. It's all normal, well as normal as you get anyway." Both he and Rose smirked.

"Hey!" Jack cried in mock indignation.

"So what does that mean then, Doctor?" Rose asked.

The Doctor sat down on the sofa and stretched his long legs out in front of him before answering. "It means that whatever was going on in that room was purely an effect of Bria's nightmare. She must have been projecting it somehow without meaning too. Or, it was having such an effect on her that there was no way she could contain it." He turned to Jack. "What was it like when you were in the room?"

"Like being in the middle of a battle, or burning building. What?" The Doctor had looked up, realization on his face.

"Not a building. A village." Rose and Jack looked at him blankly. "Bria said her village was destroyed, that's gotta' be what it was."

"There was something else."

"What?"

"I heard a voice; I think it was Bria's. She was screaming a word, I think it was Elysium. Just that one word over and over."

The Doctor looked serious. "Something else must have happened when that village was destroyed, something that affected Bria badly."

"What? Besides everything being burned?" Rose's tone held traces of sarcasm.

"Yes."

"So, what now?" Jack asked.

"Now, we find out what it was. Bria did mention consequenc_es_." He said, emphasizing the last part of the word. "This must be the other one." He stood up and began to head towards the door, before turning back.

"Oh, and Jack?"

"Yup?"

"You can stop showing off now and put your shirt back on." He grinned from ear to ear as Rose walked past Jack and dropped his shirt on his head.

Jack muttered a few choice words under his breath and pulled his shirt on before following them out the door.

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**A/N: Well there we go. Tell me what you think, pretty pretty please.** **Reviewers are the best type of people, even those that write a couple of words.**  



	8. Ghost of the past

**A/N: Hello again, heres the next chapter. Hope ya like. Thanks to Briar Elwood for being my beta, and for the description of the drawing. And thankyou to my wonderful reviewers.  
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**Disclaimer: Man these make me bored. Do these people really not know what _Fanfiction_ means? We. Don't. Own. It.**

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Bria was still sitting as they had left her when they returned to her room. The Doctor motioned for the others to stay back and approached Bria alone. He knelt in front of her and took her shoulders, looking into her eyes.

"Bria?" She looked up and met his eyes, much to the relief of all the companions. "Bria, I need you to tell me what happened. What were you dreaming about?"

Bria took in a deep shuddering breath before replying and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "Before they abandoned Britain, the Romans made a last attempt to stay there. I think that's why they were looking for the Doctor; they thought they could use him as a weapon." She paused, her eyes staring into the past again.

"What did they do?" Jack prompted her.

"They attacked where I was living, it was the last raid. A group of soldiers attacked in the night. They burned the village to the ground, targeting one building in particular."

"Which building?"

"The one where we put the children."

"Oh no." Rose brought her hand to her mouth.

"There's something else isn't there?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes." Bria hesitated before continuing. "Elysium. She died when the building was burned."

"Who was Elysium?" The Doctor was sure that this was the problem.

Bria said nothing. Instead, she reached under her bed and brought out a carved wooden box. She placed it on the bed and began to search through it. Finally, she produced a piece of paper and handed it to the Doctor. Rose and Jack peered over his shoulder as he looked at it.

On the paper was a drawing. It showed the head and shoulders of a girl. She was drawn looking at the artist; her hair was loosely tied back, rebel strands flying in front of her face with the wind. Her nose was small and chin was rounded, giving her a younger look. She had a slight smile on her lips, which was enforced by her eyes, her penetrating eyes that spoke of quiet laughter.

"Who drew that?" Jack said. He studied the picture, the eyes held a gleam of intelligence he was sure he had seen somewhere before.

"I did." Bria replied.

"Is that Elysium?" Rose asked.

"Yes."

"So, who is she?" The Doctor looked up.

"Elysium was our daughter."

All three of the companion's mouths dropped open.

The Doctor managed to regain his voice enough to talk, although he still sounded shocked. "How in the universe?"

Bria gave a derisive laugh. "Oh come on Doctor, you of all people shouldn't need to ask how babies are made."

"Oh ha ha. But…well, it was only once…" He trailed off.

"How many times do you think it takes?" The Doctor only shook his head in response.

During their exchange, Jack had managed to regain his composure. "So, what actually happened?"

"I can show you."

"Ok, then."

"Just relax and be patient." Each of them tried to relax, despite still reeling from the news that Bria had borne the Doctor's child.

Bria lowered her head and closed her eyes, one hand closing about the patterned bronze disc she wore on a cord at her throat. Watched by the others, she began to breathe deeply, as though meditating. Sounds began to fill the air, the same sounds Jack had heard before. Suddenly, Bria's eyes opened, the dark iris' had been replaced with a ring of flame. The companions stared at her eyes, transfixed by the flames. They felt themselves being drawn towards her, although they were pretty sure they weren't moving.

They found themselves standing in a field, Bria beside them. Jack turned to Bria. "What now?"

"Just watch, that's all you can do." They turned to watch the scene before them play.

_It was sunset, the child sat on the ground watching a rabbit not far away from her. She was no more than nine, with dark eyes and long, dark hair that blew across her face in the light breeze._

_The rabbit suddenly bolted as a voice floated across the field._

"_Elysium, time to go."_

"_Yes, Mother." The girl replied although she made no sign of going, looking in the direction the rabbit had gone._

"_Elysium, I'll not tell you again child." _

"_Coming." Elysium took one last glance after the rabbit and ran towards her mother's voice._

_Elysium caught Bria's hand as she ran up to her. Bria smiled down at her daughter. "What were you doing?"_

"_There was a rabbit, it came really close." Mother and daughter walked towards the nearby tree line, chattering as they went._

The scene faded and the companions found themselves in the centre of a village. The Doctor turned to Bria. "What was that?"

"A chance for you to see your daughter safe and happy." The scene before them began to play, cutting off any reply.

Rose thought to herself that it was like standing in the middle of a movie where you knew the eventual outcome, but not the events. _And, _she thought bitterly, _there's nothing we can do to help, because this isn't a movie. _

_Elysium and Bria had not long been in the village when a scout ran from the trees, yelling at the top of his voice. "Roman's! A large group of them, heading this way."_

_The entire village moved, there was no panicking, just a sense of urgency. Bria hurried to one of the small round houses, Elysium close behind. She emerged with a sword in her hand, pushing a long knife into her boot, there was already another in her belt. _

"_Elysium, go the safe house, quickly." Elysium ran to her mother first and wrapped her arms around her. Bria crouched to her level and returned the hug. Taking the girls shoulders, she looked into her eyes. "Now, child, be brave. Look after the younger ones."_

"_Yes, Mother." The child's dark eyes were solemn._

"_Good girl, I'm proud of you, I'm sure your father would have been too. Remember to keep your strength close to you." Bria's fingers brushed across the necklace around the girl's neck. It was a small bronze disc, an intricate pattern carved into it._

"_Yes, Mother."_

"_Brave girl, now go." Elysium turned and ran, grasping the hand of a smaller child as she went. They followed the other children to a slightly larger house. When the last ones had passed through the door, it was slammed closed. Armed adults moved to protect the building, ready to guard the lives of the children with their own._

_Bria had run to join a group of men as the first of the Roman soldiers reached the village. Fighting broke out, swords clashed and cries rang out as the fighters were wounded and killed. _

_Several soldiers began to move around the fighting, they held torches in one hand and swords on the other. They began to move through the village, setting light to the houses. The dry wood caught quickly and each building soon became a blaze. _

_Bria fought fiercely in the midst of the fray. Many of the soldiers who came up against her appeared not to take her seriously, only to die seconds later._

_As she dispatched a Roman, Bria saw the fire starters heading towards the house where the children were hiding. Other soldiers had engaged the guards; they had no chance of stopping them. Bria began to head towards the building, just as a flame caught the roof._

_The flames spread quickly, and the children began to scream as burning wood fell into the building. The door opened and a child ran out. Bria recognized him as Artos, he was due to join the warriors at his next birthday. He held a knife in his hand, but did not stand a chance against the Roman who was waiting for him. The soldier drove his sword through the boy's chest. The boy's eyes opened wide in pain and shock, the sword fell from his nerveless fingers. Artos was dead before he hit the ground, his heart cut in two._

_The other children screamed and ran back into the building, only to find the fire waiting from them._

"_Mother! Mother!" Bria heard Elysium's voice above the screams. The child appeared in the doorway, the Roman near the door laughed as he hit her across the face, knocking her back into the building just as the door way collapsed._

_Bria ran towards the building fighting all the more fiercely. When she reached the soldier who had struck Elysium, she attacked with a ferocity that shocked the man. He managed to block one of her blows and draw his sword across her shoulder, creating a thin line of crimson. Bria did not miss a second time, her sword plunged into his throat and she looked into his eyes as he died._

_Bria turned to the building, the heat of the flames too fierce to allow her any closer. A soldier ran up behind her, gesturing to others as he approached. They surrounded Bria, although it was clear they did not intend to kill her. Their sword thrusts were to wound only. Bria managed to kill two of them before a sword was driven into her thigh. She cried out and fell to her knees, drawing her sword across the legs of another soldier as she fell. The soldiers moved in and one of them knocked the sword from her hand. Bria drew the knives. The one in her left hand flew though the air and hit a soldier in the stomach. Lunging forward, she drove the other knife through the arm of another. The lunge was too much, Bria's leg collapsed completely and she fell forward. The soldiers caught her as she fell and tied her hands behind her back._

_Bria screamed as they dragged her away. "Elysium, Elysium."_

Again, the scene faded, but was almost instantly replaced with another.

_The soldiers gathered around the post in the clearing. They laughed and joked, they had been looking forward to this all day. When the general rode into view, they craned to see. Bria walked behind the horse, a guard on either side of her. A rope was around her neck and tied to the saddle. The Roman's would humiliate her as much as possible. Bria was limping, the wound in her thigh had gone untreated except for a scrap of cloth around it, the revealing tear in her shirt showed where the cloth had come from. Despite the blood and dirt that covered her body, Bria held her head high as she walked through the jeering crowd._

_The soldiers roughly dragged her to the post and tied her hands to the rope secured to the top of it. Laughing, they ripped the shirt from her body. Cheers and whistles rang out. Bria stood, her back straight, her eyes closed._

_A soldier approached her, the whip in his hand. He raised it above his head and brought it across her back. Bria flinched and cried out as the soldiers laughed._

_The flogging seemed to continue for hours. Eventually, they cut her down. She fell to her knees and two soldiers roughly grasped her arms while another drew a small knife. Amongst taunts and jeers, the soldiers held Bria still as the word TRISTA was carved into her skin._

_The soldiers threw her shirt at her and she lay on the ground as the general restored order to the crowd. The soldiers walked past her, now back to their discipline. Bria was left lying in the middle of the clearing. _

The scene changed again. The companions were too shocked to speak.

_Bria limped into the remains of the village. All around her were the sounds of mourning. Some of the people had stepped nearer to her, questions in their eyes. They stepped back when they saw the whip marks through the torn shirt._

_When Bria reached the remains of the ruined safe house, she saw the bodies. They had been laid out on the ground, looking over the line; Bria could tell that most of the children in the village were there, as well as many of the adults. _

_Elysium was at the end of the line. Bria moved to kneel by the body of her daughter, the child's eyes were closed, her face peaceful. Bria could see that her neck was broken, probably from the blow she had received. Gently, Bria eased the necklace from her daughter's neck and placed it over her own head before raising Elysium's body and cradling her._

_Only now, as she rocked her daughter's body back and forth did Bria allow her tears to fall._

There was slight jerk as the companions returned back to the room. Rose felt queasy, she wasn't sure if it was the return to reality or the impact of what she had just seen. She looked over at her companions. Jack looked at her and nodded his head towards the Doctor. Rose looked at the Doctor; he was staring at Bria, looking into her eyes, which had returned to normal. Bria returned his gaze steadily. Although they could hear nothing, it didn't take Jack and Rose long to realize that the Doctor and Bria were speaking mind to mind.

_Now you know what happened._

_I'm sorry, Bria. I should've stayed._

_But you didn't._

_No. But why didn't_ _I feel it through our link?_

_I closed it off, shielded you from the pain._

_Why?_

_You would have come back, as you have now. I couldn't face you then._

_But you can now. Why tell me now?_

_You wanted to know the consequences of your departure. Also, I figured it was time to tell you, I didn't want to carry it on my own any more._

_Well, occasionally you get an intelligent ape, like the one that said 'a problem shared is a problem halved'. Is that true?_

_Not quite halved, lessened maybe. _A ghost of a smile formed on her features.

_Does that mean those mood swings are gonna' stop? Even I was having trouble keeping up with you._

_I suppose so._

The Doctor grinned his manic grin and spoke aloud. "That's good then. Tomorrow we'll begin sorting out those aliens of yours."

"Thank you." The companions got up from their seats and walked towards the door when Bria called out.

"Jack." The Doctor and Rose carried on walking as Jack turned back to face Bria.

"Yup?"

"Sorry about the choking you with the smoke."

"How did you know? You weren't awake."

"The Doctor threw an image of what I was doing at me. It helped stop me."

"Ah right. That's Ok, no damage done, the Doctor checked."

"I'm glad. Goodnight, Jack."

"Goodnight, Bria."

As he left the room, Jack shook himself. There was something about Bria, something he was sure he had never felt before.

As the Doctor and Rose settled down on the sofa again, Rose checked to make sure Jack wasn't back before she spoke. "I think Jack likes Bria."

"So?"

"I mean like as in _like._"

"Yeah, but he 'likes' everything that's pretty and looks remotely female." The Doctor thought for a moment. "Actually cancel that last bit, he just likes everything."

They were still laughing when Jack entered the room. Unusually, he didn't ask why they were laughing. Instead, he went straight to the other sofa and laid down, asleep almost immediately.

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**A/N: Well? what did you think? tell me pretty please.**  



	9. Sunrise

**A/N: Hello again. This chapter is kinda short but never mind. Hope ya like. Unless I manage to write seriously fast, this might be the last chapter for a while, I'm going on holiday soon, but I will endevour to update as fast as possible. Thanks to Briar for being my beta and those really cool people who review.**

**Disclaimer: Oh I wish.**

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The Doctor woke up first, he knew it wasn't light yet, but that didn't bother him. Time Lords didn't need much sleep. Carefully, he extracted himself from Rose and got up from the sofa. Rose shifted and the Doctor's leather jacket fell to the floor. Rolling his eyes he moved round to pick it up, dusting it off, he carefully laid it back over the sleeping girl's shoulders. Realising what he was doing, he shook himself; he was dangerously close to domestic. That would not do at all. A Time Lord becoming domestic? Whoever heard of such a thing?

Shaking himself again, he quietly walked from the room.

When he reached her room, he was surprised to find Bria already up, dressed and about to walk out the door. "Where are you going?"

"Good morning to you too. You can come with me if you want."

"Where?"

"Come and find out for yourself."

"You're not going to tell me are you?"

"Nope." She smiled and he couldn't help but return it before following her out of the room.

Bria led the Doctor up a flight of stairs to a door. When she opened it, the Doctor saw that it led out onto the roof. Bria walked across the flat top of the warehouse and moved to the edge of the building, the Doctor following close behind. When she reached the ledge, she sat down, her legs dangling over the edge. Still unsure what her purpose in coming here was, the Doctor sat beside her.

"You wondering why we're up here?"

"Yep."

"There." Bria pointed straight ahead of them. The Doctor looked to where she pointed and saw her reason. The sun was rising over the city of London, lighting the sky with shafts of gold that bounced between the clouds, turning them into a multitude of colours. The Doctor was struck with awe. In all his years, he had never truly stopped to look at a sunrise on this planet.

"It's beautiful."

"One of the few things that still are. The humans haven't worked out how to ruin it yet."

"So why did you come up here to see it?"

"I come and watch the sunrise most days. Elysium used to love watching it; I guess it's a way of remembering her."

"I suppose I'm still a bit shocked about that."

"Understandable, finding out that you had a daughter who was killed in a raid should shock even you. I would worry if it didn't."

"Could you…well could you tell me about her?" The Doctor suddenly felt awkward.

"What do you want to know?"

"Anything."

Bria took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts before answering. "She was perfectly suited to her name. It meant 'beautiful sweetness'. She was intelligent; knowledge just seemed to be absorbed into her. I think she took after you in that respect."

"Sounds like she got the best of both."

"You're right. Elysium would have been powerful had she been allowed to grow up."

"Definitely. Child of a Vrexian and a Time Lord."

Bria gave a small smile. "My warrior child of time." The smile disappeared. "It couldn't save her though, and nor could I."

"It wasn't your fault. You didn't know what they were going to do."

"Still, I should have tried to save her. I should have gone into the building."

"What? And burned to death yourself? Elysium was already dead when she fell into the building. The soldier broke her neck. There was nothing you could have done." He looked over at Bria, her eyes were lowered. "I'm sorry, that was harsh."

"It was, but it was also right. I just…well I just can't help feeling like I should have been able to help her."

"Maternal guilt, a big downside of having kids."

"What about paternal?"

"Yup that as well."

Bria looked towards the rising sun. "You would have been proud of her, Doctor. I think her mind would have impressed even you."

"I bet she would. Mind of a Time Lord? Best gift there is." He grinned at her and Bria couldn't help but smile.

"The others are probably going to wake up soon, we should go back inside." She rose gracefully and stretched before reaching down to help the Doctor to his feet. A breeze began to blow over the rooftop, whipping strands of hair across Bria's face.

"Research day today, we can find out all we need to know from the TARDIS library."

"Jack and Rose don't mind trawling through books then?"

"Well Rose will complain but at least her mind will be on the task."

"And Jack?"

"Jack's mind is always on somethin' else."

"I'm not sure I want to know." A knowing smile on her face suggested she knew anyway.

As he followed her into the building, the Doctor realized that Bria had, just now, looked almost exactly like the picture of Elysium.

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**A/N: There we go. Reviewing makes you a seriously cool person.**  



	10. Research and secrets

**A/N: Hello again, I'm sorry this one took so long, but I had a serious writers block, I still don't think it's the best chapter ever, but I havn't been able to get hold of Briar who normally acts as my beta. Anyways hope you like it. Pretty please tell me what you think, I've had loads of hits but the reviews aren't as forthcoming. It doesn't take long.**

**Disclaimer: Much as I would like to own the entire rights to Doctor Who, I don't. However, Bria is mine.**

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The Doctor led the others into the library on the TARDIS. Armed with nothing more than a sketch of the alien as reference, each of them settled down with a large pile of books.

The Doctor noticed that, although Jack appeared to be focused on his research, he kept on stealing glances at Bria. He remembered Rose's words of the previous night; maybe they did have some merit after all.

After what seemed like hours of scanning the pages for a hint of information, Jack slammed the book he had been looking at closed. "Hey, mind my books." Came the reprimand from the Doctor.

"I'm sorry, Doctor. This is driving me crazy, and I'm starving. I think it's time for a break, or at least some food."

"Now that was one of the few very good ideas you occasionally come up with."

"Hey!"

"I think that was a sort of compliment." Rose could not help smiling as she said it.

The Doctor gave one of his huge grins. "Right then, food time. C'mon." As they stood up to leave, the Doctor turned to Bria. "Are you coming or shall we bring it back?"

"Bring it back; I think I'm on the verge of finding something."

Bria waited until they had been gone a few minutes before closing her eyes and using her link to the Doctor to connect her mind to the TARDIS.

_TARDIS?_

_Yes, Bria? _The TARDIS responded, to Bria's relief, which meant she would co-operate.

_Will you hide this from the Doctor?_

_Why don't you tell him?_

_He'll never let me do it. Then I can't keep my promise._

_I will hide it. _

_Thank you. _

Bria grasped the page of the book on her lap and tore it out. The TARDIS altered the book, making it look as though the page had never existed.

Rose came back first, bearing a tray with four mugs of tea. Carefully she put it on the table before turning to Bria. "They won't be back for a while yet, they're arguing over the food."

"They always do that?"

"Only if they reach the kitchen at the same time." They both laughed before Rose became more serious. What she was about to ask had been bothering her; she had finally decided to broach the subject with an open mind.

"So… what happened between you and the Doctor?"

Bria gave a small smile. "I was wondering when you would ask that." She sat forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "The Doctor crash landed in Roman Britain about nine years before the Romans left. I found him near the TARDIS, he had collapsed. I managed to get him back to the relative safety of the village where he eventually grew stronger."

"What was wrong with him?"

"I don't know what was physically wrong with him, but I do know that when he regained consciousness he was in the most fragile emotional state I have ever seen."

"Because of his planet."

"That's what I eventually found out, yes. Although it took me weeks to get him to tell me much at all. Over time he began to accept what had happened to his planet and his character came through."

"And you two…?" Rose trailed off.

"Yes, once. Although our connection was more through mind than body." When Rose said nothing, she continued. "He left shortly after words, having done all the healing he was going to. It was only after he left that I found out I was carrying his child."

"He never mentions any of this, absolutely nothing."

"I'm not surprised, he moves on, he can't linger. It's not his way."

"Doesn't that upset you?"

"I had just under two thousand years to get over it. Time is a healer, Rose."

"You were still angry though. You hit him hard."

"You tell me truthfully, Rose. If he left you, what is the first thing you would do if he came back?"

"Slap him." Rose grinned sheepishly.

"I rest my case. Even though that's something I don't think you'll have to worry about."

"Why not?"

"Have you really not noticed? The Doctor is in love with you."

"You what?" Rose dropped the sugar spoon she was holding. "What makes you think that?"

Bria smiled. "Blocking his mind off was something the Doctor was never very good at. In fact, he's terrible at it. All the time there's an overwhelming love for you in his mind, even if he's thinking about something else. It's one of the strongest feelings I get from him."

"I wouldn't think falling in love is something he'd do."

"Anyone can fall in love, Rose." She paused. "Especially if the person they're in love with loves them back."

Rose looked up sharply. "Now I know you can't read my mind so how the heck…" she trailed off at the thought of the Doctor's past lover knowing something she tried to hide.

Bria merely smiled. "I don't need to be able to read your mind to see you love the Doctor."

Rose blushed. "Is it that obvious?"

"Yup."

Rose shook her head. "Well I s'pose it is obvious when people have feelings sometimes." When Bria looked up questioningly Rose continued. "Like I can see that Jack has feelings for you."

"But I thought Jack is one of those people who…"

"Yeah I know he normally goes for anything. But this is different; I think he really likes you."

Bria's reply was cut off when the two men came into the room, Jack bearing a tray of bacon sandwiches and the doctor cradling several different bottles of sauce. "It doesn't matter if frying the bacon makes it worse for you." The Doctor was saying. "The unhealthiness is part of what makes it so good."

"I dunno about you Doctor but I like to keep healthy, and frying the bacon isn't the best way to go about it."

"Bet that won't stop you eating it though." Rose said with a grin.

"Fair point." Jack admitted.

As he pulled a sandwich of the tray the Doctor turned to Bria. "So did you find anything while I was teaching flyboy how to make a proper bacon sandwich?"

Jack's indignation was cut off by both his mouthful of food and Bria's reply. "Yes, I did find a reference to them. Here it is." She passed the book over to the Doctor, who began to read with Rose and Jack peering over his shoulder. The entry in the large leather bound book showed a picture very similar to that which Bria had drawn as a reference.

The picture showed a beast, its red-brown skin stretched tightly over muscle and bone. It walked on two legs, although hunched over so that its long arms nearly touched the ground. The reptilian head was crowned with shining black spikes that ran down in a ridge along the curved back. Matching claws were at the ends of the hands and feet. More spikes jutted from the elbows and knees. Another cruel looking spike jutted from one forearm, this one slightly paler.

"Yikes." Breathed Jack. "That is one nasty looking beastie." He looked at the writing below the picture. _The Correllix, from the dark realms of many planets in several galaxies. These creatures kill needlessly much of the time, until they find a race which they feel must be wiped out. They will then sacrifice themselves to complete the destruction of said race. As all Correllix in one clan are connected through life force, if one dies, a certain amount of time must be taken by the others in the clan to recover. However, if the ruler of the clan is killed, all die. When they have succeeded in wiping out all but one of the race they are hunting, they will hunt down that individual and kill them by means of a ritual which takes place the night after capture. Main weapons of the Correllix are the claws, teeth and spikes, however another bone spike concealed in the right forearm can be extended at will._

The Doctor had finished reading and now looked up at Bria. "So all we have to do is kill the main one then that's it."

"Looks like that's about it."

"Although can we figure out a plan later, pretty please?" asked Rose. "I mean, we've been researching and that for ages. My brain's frazzled."

"Well we do have 'till tomorrow night." Bria said. " So I don't see why not. Anyway, I need to do something active, sitting down for hours on end doesn't agree with me."

"What did you have in mind?" Jack asked.

"How good are your combat skills, Captain?"

"Pretty good, why?"

Bria looked at the Doctor and they grinned at each other as the Doctor realized what she was thinking. "How would you like to get some practice in?"

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**A/N: Well there we go, now all you have to do is push the little purple button that leads to the review box, even one liners are fine.**  



	11. Weapons

**AN: Hello again. Here's the next one, and this time, it's been beta read. Hope ya like. Don't forget to review, last chapter I had like 4 reviews out of 30 readers.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned then I wouldn't be needing my parents to get me through university.**

Bria led the companions through to the back section of the warehouse and ushered them through a door. They came out onto a viewing platform which stood above a large room. Jack thought the room was empty until he saw the rack of weapons on the far side. There were several different types of swords, various crossbows, long wooden staffs, and an assortment of other blades including several pairs of the sai blades favoured by Bria. The Doctor noticed that several of the weapons had black ribbons trailing from them, he was about to ask why but Rose beat him to it. "What are those for?" She asked pointing to the ribbons.

"It's a tradition to mark the weapons of those who died with black cord or ribbon." Bria did not elaborate, but instead turned to Jack. "You still up for practice?"

"Definitely, but hand to hand only, right?"

"Sure." Bria stripped off the jumper she was wearing, revealing a simple black strap top. She had exchanged her jeans for loose, grey combat trousers earlier. She walked down the stairs to the large room. Jack, having removed his jacket and shirt, followed her. "Doctor would you be so kind as to give us a starting call?"

"Yup" came the reply as Jack and Bria moved to stand opposite each other in the center of the large room. Jack assumed a classic fighting stance, his weight balanced, his hands raised in front of him. Bria stood facing him full on, her hands hanging loosely by her sides.

The Doctor called down to them, his voice echoing in the huge room. "Ready?" Both Jack and Bria nodded. "Fight!"

Rose had expected them to fly at each other and was a little disappointed when, instead, Bria began to circle Jack. As he turned to face her, Bria's eyes moved over his body. "What's she doing?" Rose whispered to the Doctor.

"She's forcing him to move so that she can pick out any weaknesses." The Doctor looked like he might elaborate when Jack suddenly attacked Bria.

She ducked under his hand and attempted to deliver a swift kick to his stomach. Jack, having seen her use this method in the alley way was ready for her and knocked her leg away.

The Doctor watched as blows were exchanged and blocked. Suddenly, he began to grin. "What's so funny?" Rose queried.

"She's playing with him; she could have taken him out at least three times already."

Jack had managed to gain the upper hand, he had grasped Bria's wrist and forced it up between her shoulders. "Are you holding back?" He asked.

"Yes. Are you?"

"Yup."

"What do you say we stop playing and go for real?"

"Sounds good." Jack let go and jumped back as Bria spun to face him, he had just regained his fighting stance when she flew at him. He managed to block several blows although some hit home.

On the viewing platform, Rose watched with a mixture of fascination, admiration and slight fear for Jack. She knew he was strong and could handle himself, but he was being forced backwards under the apparent fury of Bria's assault.

Jack knew he had to come up with something fast, although this wasn't a fight to the death; he was still going to come out with some bruises. Her attack had caught him by surprise. As if by magic, he saw an opening and took it, forcing Bria to her knees. As he moved towards her, she rolled away, ending up in a crouch. They clashed together again, this time more equally matched until, somehow, Bria managed to kick Jack's legs out from under him and wrap an arm around his throat.

Jack nodded, exhausted. "OK, you win." Bria stepped away and offered Jack her hand which he clasped and pulled himself upright. "You're good." He said, holding on to her hand.

"Thanks, you're not bad yourself." She grinned at him then turned to face the Doctor and Rose, gently removing her hand from Jack's as she did so.

"Well done, flyboy. You managed to hold out for longer than I thought you would." The Doctor grinned.

"You do better then." Came the retort.

"OK."

"What? You?" Rose was incredulous.

"You think that in nine hundred years I haven't learned to fight?"

"You just never struck me as the sort of person who would, well you know, fight like this."

"She has a point, Doctor; I've never seen you fight." Jack interjected.

"Fighting someone I can beat by other means is one thing. Showing flyboy that I can do better is another." He turned to Bria. "You up for it?"

"Sure, why not?" She moved towards the centre of the room. The Doctor removed his jacket and jumper and handed them to Rose who returned to the platform with Jack.

"Weapons or hand?" Bria asked.

"Both."

"Which order?" The Doctor surveyed the weapon racks carefully before making a decision.

"Staff, sai, hands?"

"Sounds good." Bria moved to the racks and removed two pairs of sai blades which she laid carefully on the floor. Next she removed two long, wooden staffs and tossed one to the Doctor.

"What are they doing?" Rose whispered.

Jack shook his head in reply. "Um, what's going on?" he called down.

Bria smiled before replying. "Well I guess you could call it a kind of training game. You pick a sequence of weapons and when your opponent disarms you, you move onto the next."

"Someone give us a starting call." The Doctor said, readying the staff in his hands. Rose nodded in reply.

"Ready?" She called. They nodded. "Fight."

Both Rose and Jack had expected Bria to circle the Doctor as she had Jack; therefore they were a little surprised when the staffs clashed together almost instantly. Blows were blocked with the resounding clash of wood on wood, and several hit home with the dull thud of wood on flesh.

This time there was no question of holding back.

"Why aren't they testing each other this time?" Rose asked.

"They've fought each other before." Jack winced as the Doctor managed to land a blow to the top of Bria's thigh. Although the staff came into contact with solid muscle, Bria was still knocked down by the force of the blow.

The Doctor managed to knock the staff out of her hands and sent it clattering across the floor. As Bria righted herself he swung at her, forcing her to drop, she landed on her shoulder and rolled towards the sai blades on the floor. Picking them up, she spun them and launched herself towards the Doctor.

Now the sound of metal on wood reverberated around the room as the Doctor only just managed to block the swinging blades.

Glancing sideways at Jack, Rose smiled to herself. He was watching Bria, almost hungrily. She could see his eyes devouring her slim but powerful body as she moved back and forth across the floor. Little did she know that moments before, Jack had seen her doing exactly the same thing with the Doctor.

Bria had managed to catch the staff in the blades and twist it away, causing the Doctor to dive for his blades before she swung at him again. A sharp ringing sounded as the blades clashed together. Before long, Bria had managed to clash one of her blades against one of the Doctor's, sending the impact up his arm and causing him to drop the blade. In turn, he managed to hook one of hers away. Now only armed with one blade each, they threw them down and flew at each other again.

As he watched, Jack was relieved that he had not had to fight Bria with weapons, or for this long.

Both the Doctor and Bria were starting to tire. The Doctor had not fought like this for years, he had forgotten how tiring it was. Bria had not had two all out fights with experienced fighters for a long time, silently she berated herself for not keeping as fit as she once had been.

The Doctor had managed to get an arm around Bria's neck and was slowly choking her. Jack was confused, she didn't seem to be about to yield. Bria appeared to be relaxing in the Doctor's grip as he cut off her air. Both the Doctor and the spectators were unprepared for Bria as she suddenly pushed off from the ground, throwing the Doctor off balance. She executed a perfect back flip, using the Doctor as leverage and landed in a crouch behind the Doctor who was lying flat on his back.

"OK, you win. But I still did better than flyboy."

**AN: So what did ya think? all reviews except flames welcome, even single lines or words.**


	12. Plans and revelations

**A/N: Hey people, new chapter at last. So sorry for the delay, I got to Uni and my computer decided that it didn't want to connect to the net, finally I managed to get the thing sorted. Anyways, here it is I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I wish I did but sadly no.**

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Much of the next day was spent discussing, and sometimes arguing as the companions and Bria tried to think of ways to destroy the Correllix. So far, all they had managed to agree on was a time, a decision helped by another book which stated that the ritual mentioned in the other book, which would start at midnight, was the best time to attack.

They had been sitting in silence for a while, each thinking of various ideas. Finally Bria sat forward. "How about we let them start the ritual, then attack them." The others looked at her.

"How can we let them do that?" Rose asked.

"Hang on a sec." The Doctor interjected. "They won't start the ritual until…"

"Until they have me." Bria finished.

Jack started to shake his head. "That is way too dangerous; you could be seriously hurt or killed."

"But I might also survive."

"It's the 'might' I have a problem with."

"Have you got any better ideas?" Jack shook his head. "Well neither have I. If they start the ritual then we can attack, but it only works if they have me."

"She does have a point." The Doctor sat forward in his chair.

"Doctor are you insane?" Jack started to interrupt, but the Doctor waved a hand to silence him, and continued.

"I'm not overly happy with it either, but since even my brilliant brain hasn't come up with anything better, then we don't have much choice."

"So when would we attack? We don't know how long this ritual is, only when it starts, and we have no idea exactly when they would kill you." Jack pointed out.

"You would have to be in position when it starts, then attack." Bria replied.

"And what would I do?" Rose asked. "I'm not exactly a prize fighter."

"I have long range weapons that are easy to use."

The Doctor grinned quickly and rested his elbows on his knees. "Let's get planning then."

A while later, Bria sat back on the sofa. "There, all done."

"Perfect." The Doctor grinned.

"It's a fairly good method, but I'm still not happy about this." Jack looked troubled.

"There's no other way of doing this, now if you'll excuse me; I have a couple of things to do." With a last look at Jack who had sunk into silence, Bria rose from the sofa and walked out of the room.

Rose sat quietly, as she had throughout the exchanges between Jack, the Doctor and Bria. She thought about various things, the plan for the next day, the Doctor's ready agreement to it and Jack's worrying attitude towards it. The plan would work, she was sure of it. The Doctor was probably agreeing with Bria's idea of giving herself up through fear of another mental slap. Those thoughts she could figure out, but the one that bugged her was Jack. He was worrying far too much for someone who normally went in head first, guns blazing and laughing while he did it.

Rose pushed the thoughts aside and leaned over the Doctor's shoulder to look at the magazine he was leafing through.

Neither of them looked up until Jack suddenly stood and walked out of the room without a word. Rose went to follow him, but the Doctor stopped her. "Leave him."

"But…" Rose tried to protest but the Doctor shook his head.

"He needs to be left alone for a bit."

Jack wandered the empty back corridors of the warehouse, he didn't have a conscious destination in mind, but some part of him was aware of the general direction he was heading in.

Bria sat on her bed, long legs folded under her as she placed the last pieces of paper back into the wooden box. She looked again at the page she had torn from the book in the TARDIS, it was the same as ever, holding the information she had kept from the others, the information she needed to keep her promise. Sighing, she placed the page into the box and closed it before reaching down to slide the box back under the bed.

Bria walked through the front passages of the warehouse towards the sofa room.

The Doctor and Rose looked up as Bria entered. "Hi, sorry about taking off earlier, there was something I had to do." Bria looked around the room. "Where's Jack?"

"Dunno." The Doctor replied. "He disappeared a while back."

"He was in a weird mood." Rose added.

"I'll go see if I can find him. Anyway, I came to say goodnight. So goodnight."

"Night." Came both replies.

When Bria had gone, Rose turned to the Doctor. "Oh they definitely like each other."

Jack saw a room and entered it, vaguely noticing both the absence of a door and that it was next to Bria's room. It was an old storage room, various boxes lay scattered on the floor. Moonlight and the vague glow of the street lamps filtered through the single window. Jack crossed to the window and leaned his head against it, heedless of the bump his head made as it hit the window. He stood there, feeling the cold glass against his forehead, and let his thoughts wash over him.

Bria's sharp hearing caught the sound of Jack's head hitting the glass and she headed towards the sound.

Jack was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't hear Bria until she stood on a squeaky floorboard. Startled, he spun around to face her. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find you."

"What if I didn't want to be found?"

Bria walked to the window and leaned back against it before answering. "Then you would have gone to a different part of the warehouse that isn't right next to my bedroom."

A ghost of a smile flicked across Jack's features as he turned back to the window. "Fair point."

They stood in silence for a while before Bria spoke. "What's wrong, Jack?"

"You haven't guessed?"

"I have a rough idea, but I want to hear it from you." Jack spun away from the window, and for a moment, Bria wondered if she had done the right thing by pressing him for an answer.

"You wanna' hear it? Fine, I'm worried about you. This plan may have satisfied the Doctor, but to me it's just one huge risk by you. It's almost suicide."

"I've taken risks before."

"Yeah maybe. But this? This is just foolish." Jack realized he may have gone too far when Bria stepped towards him, her dark eyes blazing.

"Well I'm sorry if this plan isn't to your liking, but it's the best any of us could come up with all day. If you have a better idea then I'm all ears, but if not then don't try and stop me. This is something I have to do." She turned to face the window leaning her head on her arm against it.

Jack approached her slowly, curious as to the meaning of her last words. "Why do you have to? What is so important that you have to risk your life like this?"

Bria sighed and closed her eyes. "I made a promise. That's why, I swore that I would destroy these things; and that's what I intend to do."

"I'm sorry, Bria. I didn't mean to blow up on you like that; I guess I've just been feeling a little messed up lately."

"About what?" Bria had turned to face him.

Jack sighed before answering. "About you." He didn't notice Bria close her eyes; it wasn't an answer she had been expecting. Well Rose had warned her.

Jack shuffled his feet, jolting Bria from her thoughts and making her realize he was waiting for some kind of response. Ah well, she mused, no point in denying or wasting what life sent your way.

Jack began to turn away when Bria called out to him. "Jack, wait." Slowly he turned back to face her, hoping against hope that she was going to give him the response he wanted. Bria looked troubled, as though the right words for what she wanted to say were nowhere to be found. "Jack, I…oh what the heck." Apparently giving up on words she crossed the room and kissed him. Initially Jack was shocked, then, realising this was what he wanted, returned the kiss.

The Doctor shifted, jolting Rose out of the half sleep she was in. Bleary eyed, she looked up at him questioningly. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't properly asleep. What's wrong?"

"I was wondering if Bria's found Jack yet."

"If she hasn't yet she will soon. They won't be back tonight anyway."

"Eh?"

"Oh come on, it's obvious, even you must of noticed."

"I noticed something, but I didn't think it'd gone that far." He grinned at her. "Still, at least we can have a quiet night with out Jack's sleep talking." Rose grinned back and snuggled back against the Doctor's chest.

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**A/N: Well there you have it. As always pretty please review as only the coolest people do.  
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	13. Waiting

**A/N: Hey again, heres the next one. Only a couple more chapters** **to go** **now. Thanks to Briar, both for beta-ing and for being the only one to review the last chapter. Anyways on with the story.  
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Bria never thought a day could go so slowly, she hated waiting. She knew what was going to happen that night, she had prepared all that needed preparing, the plan was set, including the one that none of the others knew about. She longed to tell them what she had to do, to give them some warning; however, she knew that if the Doctor or Jack found out what she was planning the Correllix would be the least of her worries. No it was best not to tell them. Keeping her thoughts to herself she sat quietly against Jack as she had been for much of the day.

Jack sat with an arm draped over Bria's shoulders, playing idly with the ends of her long hair. He didn't mind waiting for things to happen, however he did hate not knowing exactly how things were going to happen. He still wasn't entirely happy with the idea of Bria placing herself in so much danger. He had resigned himself to it nonetheless; he knew the value of promises to the dead. He looked over at the Doctor, wondering why he had so readily agreed to Bria's plan. He knew the Doctor trusted Bria's judgement, perhaps he trusted it too much.

The Doctor sat opposite Jack and Bria, Rose leaning against him. He contemplated what was going to happen. He had not fought with Bria over her decision, he wasn't that brave for a start and he knew that taking on Bria in a battle of wills was like walking up to a Dalek and asking it politely if it would mind not killing people. Also he had heard the promise she had made to Kira as she had held the girls body in her arms. The Correllix had to be destroyed; there was no question about it. He was also worried about Rose, yes she would be at a distance from the fighting but it would still be dangerous. _Ah well _he mused _no more dangerous than anything else._

Rose was worried, yes she could use the crossbow that Bria had provided, a crash course earlier that day with the laser sighted weapon had sorted that issue. However, she was still worried, whenever she and the Doctor had come across fights before it had been because they had stumbled on them, but never had they planned them then had to wait for it to happen.

Bria shifted, disturbing the thoughts of the others, she looked around the room, meeting each of their eyes in turn. "Time to go, they'll be hunting soon."

Bria walked down the alley slowly, the beasts were nearby, she could feel it. The TARDIS was parked in the shadows nearby, its camera trained on her, she knew the others were watching her on the monitor inside. Sighing she shielded her plans, confining them to a safe place in her mind, before allowing the Doctor access to the rest of it.

Inside the TARDIS, Rose, the Doctor and Jack gathered around the screen that showed the alley outside. The Doctor, who had been standing with his eyes closed searching for Bria's mind, suddenly opened them. "Right, we're connected. Now to wait."

Bria felt the Doctor's presence in her mind, not invasive, but comforting.

Shadows began to detach them selves from the depths of the alley, dark shapes of the Correllix. More came from the open end, cutting off any escape. Bria stood still as they stalked towards her, moving to surround the girl who had killed so many of them. Bria drew the sai blades from the sheaths at her side; she would not go down without a fight. One moved towards her, its claws ready. Quickly she deflected it, driving the other blade deep into its neck. As their clan member fell, the other Correllix decided to take her down once and for all, determined that no more of their number would die tonight. As one they moved in, although she managed to wound several of them, Bria did not stand a chance. It wasn't long before one of the beasts managed to knock her to her knees, as soon as she was down another moved in and delivered a brutal blow to her head. Bria crumpled to the floor and her limp body was carried away.

Inside the TARDIS, the others watched, each wanting to help Bria as she fought and was defeated, although knowing they couldn't, the plan was set and this was part of it. The Doctor shook his head to clear it, he had felt the blow that had knocked Bria down, and although she was unconscious he could still feel her mind; that was how they would find her. Sighing, he motioned to the others that there was nothing they could do, and settled down to wait.

Bria woke to a haze of pain; her head was throbbing from the blow that had sent her into unconsciousness, she could also feel several other bruises across her arms, legs and ribs although she wasn't sure whether they had come from rough handling or beatings while she was unconscious. Around both wrists she could feel the cold bands of the shackles that held her chained to the wall. In the back of her mind she could feel the strong, comforting presence of the Doctor keeping his mental link open, allowing him to find her.

Remaining still, Bria listened to what was going on around her. She could hear the guttural sounds of the Correllix as they prepared for the ritual that night. Opening her eyes a little she began to look around, she could see the shapes of the beasts moving around and made a quick count. She had just managed to relay the information to the Doctor before one of the Correllix saw her open eyes and moved forward to deliver a vicious blow to the side of her head, sending her once more back into darkness.

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**A/N: well there we have it. tell me what ya think**


	14. Plan revealed

**A/N: Hey, nearly done now. Enjoy.**

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The Doctor, Rose and Jack crept silently to the old factory that the mind link had led them to. The Doctor could feel Bria's pain, and the feeling grew stronger as they drew near.

Carefully the three companions slipped into the door at the side of the building, all keeping a lookout for any guards, despite Bria's assurances that there would be none. Now they had her, the Correllix did not fear attack. Finally the came to a passage, to one side they could see stairs leading to a viewing platform. Ahead of them was the door to the room which the platform looked down on. Silently, the companions moved to a small alcove in the wall and settled down to wait.

For what seemed to Rose to be the thousandth time that night, Jack checked his watch. Trying not to make a sound she looked over at the Doctor, he was sitting with his eyes closed, trying to wake the still unconscious Bria. As she watched, he shook his head and opened his eyes, meeting her gaze as he did so. His almost imperceptible nod told Rose that he had been successful.

Once again Bria woke from the depths of unconsciousness, the voice of the Doctor giving her something to concentrate on. This time she stayed completely still, giving the beasts around her no indication that she had awoken. She could hear them moving around, preparing for the ritual that would end her life. For a moment she was almost scared, a slight feeling of panic rising to turn her stomach. The Doctor must have felt it, for almost immediately, his voice filled her mind, calming her.

The three companions jumped as a roar filled the room next to them; suddenly the passage was filled with the sound of claws on stone as the Correllix moved towards the room. Jack counted at least ten, Bria had told the Doctor that there were fifteen altogether.

Finally the tramping stopped and the companions moved silently up the stairs to the viewing platform. Hiding in the shadows they looked down at the scene below them.

Bria was slumped against the far wall, the chains around her wrists preventing escape. The Correllix had gathered around a raised platform where the largest of them stood. This beast was obviously the leader; it was huge, the spikes on its back dark and sharp. As they watched, the leader made a gesture; two of the beasts moved towards Bria and grasped her by the arms, removing the chains from her wrists. Quickly they dragged her to the centre of the room and secured her to another pair of chains, these ones hanging from the ceiling.

On the platform, Rose loaded the crossbow. Jack carefully slipped a gun from one of the holsters on his belt. The Doctor removed the sonic screwdriver from his pocket. They were ready.

The Correllix leader picked up a wicked looking knife from the platform, the others had formed a circle around the chained girl. As the leader began to move towards Bria, the other Correllix began to chant in deep guttural growls and roars that spoke of bloodlust.

The companions readied themselves.

As the leader moved to thrust the knife into Bria's heart, her eyes opened. Taking advantage of the surprise, Bria swung on the chains, kicking out with both feet at the beasts head and sending it sprawling across the floor.

On the platform, the companions sprung into action, Rose began to fire crossbow bolts into the crowd of Correllix, the laser sighted weapon rarely missing. Jack had leapt off of the platform and begun to fire at the beasts, clearing a path to Bria for the Doctor who had jumped down beside him. The Doctor ran to Bria, dodging a furious Correllix on the way. Grasping the chains on her wrists he held the screwdriver to them until they snapped.

Quickly he passed her the black leather case he had strapped to his back, which she unzipped, revealing her sai blades. Returning his grin, she spun them in her hands and turned to attack the beasts.

The roars of the Correllix filled the building as they fell; many of them went for Jack, eager to kill the strange man with the strange weapon, only to be felled by several bullets. Jack was unsure why the gun was keeping them at bay so well, unaware as he was that they had never come across one before due to the Vrexian's refusal to use them.

Rose was seriously hoping that it would be over soon, she was running out of crossbow bolts and the Correllix were starting to try and climb up to her. If they managed, or got past Jack to the stairs, Rose had no doubt she would be killed.

The Doctor was using the sonic screwdriver to stun the beasts before knocking them down with kicks or punches. Bria followed close behind him, driving blades into the stunned beasts, or dispatching those who came at her. She was caught in the thrill of the kill, an angel of death dealing with her enemies.

Finally, the last beast screamed as Bria drove both sai blades into its neck. For a moment, they stood in the sudden silence, the bodies of the Correllix littering the floor. The Doctor looked at Bria, and grinned before enveloping her in a hug. As Rose came down the stairs he let Bria go, leaving room for Jack to run to her. Rose smiled as she hugged the Doctor, and they watched as Jack swung Bria round before kissing her.

As they hugged, only Bria saw the leader of the Correllix move. It lunged at Jack, the extended bone spike in its forearm aiming for his heart. Bria grasped Jack round the waist and spun him away, placing herself directly in the path of the spike. Drawing a blade, Bria met the monster as it charged.

The force of the beast hitting her knocked Bria backwards, she felt her blade sink into its body. The Correllix leader screamed its final scream. Falling backwards it hit the floor and as it did, began to disintegrate. All around the room the rest of the Correllix did the same, flesh disappearing as smoke, leaving nothing but bones. It was finished.

Jack got up from where he had fallen, moving towards Bria as she knelt by the bones. He watched as she placed her sai blades on the floor, and caught her whispered words. "It is done, my promise is kept."

"Bria?" Quietly, Jack called her. She turned to face him, moving into his outstretched arms. Resting his head on hers, Jack looked at the bones of the Correllix behind her.

Only after a while did he see the blood that coated the bone spike.

"Bria?" Jack held her at arms length and looked into her eyes, a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Jack." The colour drained from her face and Jack only just managed to support her as she collapsed to her knees.

"Jack, what happened?" The Doctor and Rose had rushed forward. They stopped short when they saw Bria's hands, covered in her own blood.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry." Bria gasped for breath and slumped against Jack. Gently he eased her so that she was lying down before opening the long black jumper. As he moved her clothing his breath caught in his throat; the spike had caught her near the heart, dark blood pulsed from the wound. A single look told everyone there that the wound was fatal.

Jack tried to smile at the dying girl. "It's ok, you'll be fine."

Bria shook her head, her breath shuddering. "No I won't, if I was I wouldn't have kept my promise."

"What does that mean?" Rose asked.

"I couldn't tell you that the only thing to truly destroy the Correllix was the heart blood of a Vrexian. You would never have let me go through with it."

"You knew? You knew that you were going to die? Why did you still do it?" Jack shook his head, unable to understand.

"A promise to the dead." The Doctor answered. "It's one of the strongest promises a Vrexian can make." Bria just nodded, her strength ebbing.

Jack said nothing, unable to speak. Gently he lifted Bria's shoulders from the floor; cradling her as the girl he thought he had been falling in love with lay bleeding to death. Rose and the Doctor stood silently, clutching each others hands. Rose could feel the Doctor shaking as Bria's pain flowed into him through the still open mind link along with flitting images from her fading mind.

Jack felt a gentle caress on his cheek and looked down to see Bria's pain filled eyes. Gently she drew his head down towards her, touching her lips to his in a gentle farewell. "Thank you." She whispered. As they watched, her head fell to one side, and she drew in one last shuddering breath, letting it out in a gentle sigh. The Doctor and Rose hugged each other, tears streaming down Rose's face, the Doctor's eyes full of sorrow. A single tear spilled onto Jack's cheek as he gathered Bria's body in his arms and rocked back and forth, even now unwilling to let her go.

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**A/N: There we go, tell me what you think. Next chapter soon hopefully. **


	15. Further Revelations

**A/N: Hey dudes, so sorry about not updating for so long, however university, unfourtunately takes precedence, that, plus a seemingly ongoing case of writers block have led to a very long delay. Anyways for those of you who are still interested, here's the second to last chapter.**

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Silently the Doctor left the warehouse, heading for the TARDIS. Only when he was safely inside his beloved ship did he allow his own tears to fall. Taking a deep breath he angrily brushed his hand across his face before moving to the controls of the TARDIS.

Only Rose looked up as the familiar sound of the TARDIS began in the warehouse. Jack had not moved from where he knelt next to Bria's body, she wasn't even sure if he had noticed the Doctor's departure. The door opened and the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, pausing to gather as much composure as he could muster.

Carefully, Rose and the Doctor approached Jack. Rose knelt beside him. "Jack?" She felt him shudder as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Jack? We should go."

"I don't want to leave her."

"You don't have to." The Doctor had stepped forwards. "We'll take her in the TARDIS; find a place of rest to take her to." Jack nodded, not meeting the Doctor's eyes.

The Doctor moved towards him, reaching out his arms to lift Bria, but Jack flinched away. "No! I'll take her." Slowly, he got up, sliding his arms under Bria's body as he did so. Slowly, the three companions moved towards the TARDIS.

The Doctor led the others through the winding corridors of the TARDIS; finally he came to the right room and opened the door. The room was calming, soft lights moving and changing over cream walls, he had asked the TARDIS to make it ready, and saw that his beloved ship had done as he asked. There was a raised block in the centre, draped in black velvet; a few chairs were near the block. Candles floated in glass bowls of water.

Jack entered the room, and after looking around briefly, gently laid Bria's body on the block. Without a word to the others he sat in one of the chairs, his eyes never leaving Bria's face. Silently, Rose and the Doctor backed out of the room.

As they entered the control room, Rose spun round to face the Doctor. "Why didn't you save her?"

"I couldn't." The Doctor turned away.

"Why not? You healed those scars and that bruise, why not that wound?"

Now it was the Doctor's turn to get angry. "You don't think I wanted to save her? You think I wanted to stand there and watch her die? I couldn't save her because she wouldn't let me. Bria knew that she had to die, she was ready to." He turned away again, leaning on the controls of his ship.

Rose shook her head. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I just can't believe she's gone."

"I know." The whisper was barely audible. Rose moved towards him, he turned and they held each other, grieving silently.

Later that night, Rose was unable to sleep, she had dealt with death before, watched as people like Gwyneth the servant girl had sacrificed themselves, but this time it seemed different. Getting up, she moved towards the kitchen.

Entering the room, she was unsurprised to find the Doctor there sitting at the table. Rose recognized the wooden box that Bria had produced the drawing of Elysium from sitting in front of him. Moving closer, Rose saw that it was filled with various bits of paper, which the Doctor was sorting into piles.

She sat down beside him and picked up one of the piles of paper, it was all sketches, landscapes and other pictures of what Rose guessed to be a changing Britain, each labeled with a date. Other pictures were of various people, men and women, some drawn like Elysium, just head and shoulders, others drawn in action, using various weapons, under each of these was a name and a date. Rose put down the pile and picked up another, it was made up of various news clippings, each one detailing how a body had been found, each and every one with terrible wounds. Rose guessed these were all the Vrexians who had fallen.

Absorbed in the papers, Rose jumped when the Doctor gasped. Looking up she saw him holding two sheets of paper, one had clearly been torn from a book.

"Doctor, what is it?" Wordlessly he handed her the page, Rose looked at it.

_True destruction of a Correllix clan can only be achieved by one method. During the time of the ritual to destroy the last member of a race, the bone spike of the clan leader must be smeared with the heart blood of a Vrexian. This is difficult to achieve as the Correllix leader will never voluntarily strike a Vrexian through the heart. As Vrexians are the sworn enemies of the Correllix, there has never yet been one who will not gladly give up their life for the destruction of a Correllix clan._

Rose looked at the Doctor. "This looks like a page from that book we were looking at before."

"It is she must have taken it while we were out of the room, Bria wasn't on the verge of finding something; she _had_ found something. That's why she convinced us to let her give herself up."

"What's that?" Rose gestured to the other bit of paper.

"It's the location of what looks like a resting place run by Vrexian's for those killed in battle. It's where we're heading next." Carefully he began to gather the papers back into the box before going to set the controls of the TARDIS for their next destination.

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**A/N: well there ya have it, please review.**


	16. Together At Last

**A/N: Hey to those who are still reading, here it is, the last chapter. Hope you enjoy.**

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The whirring of the engines stopped and the Doctor checked the screens, they were in the right place. Taking a deep breath, he turned to Rose. "Let's go."

Jack had barely moved from his seat next to Bria's body for the entire journey and barely looked up now as the Doctor and Rose walked into the room. Rose approached him. "Jack, we've arrived, it's time to go." Jack nodded, no longer having the will to object. He watched numbly as the Doctor gently scooped up Bria's body.

The Doctor walked out of the door of the TARDIS followed by Rose and Jack. They were in a forest, large oak trees surrounding them. He could see a gap in the trees and a small hut nearby.

He was surprised to see a group of about five men and women standing by the hut, all dressed in what appeared to be clothes from past eras. The woman at the front stepped forward, her medieval gown of dark green velvet trailing the leaves. "Doctor?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"We felt Bria's death. We knew you would bring her here." She gestured and the men stepped forwards, carrying between them what appeared to be a deep velvet bed on two poles. "Please" she gestured to the Doctor who gently laid Bria down. Silently, the men took hold of the poles and bore Bria away, followed by the two other women. The companions watched them leave, and then followed the green gowned women as she walked to the hut.

They sat in silence as she poured them all something from a large kettle on the fire. As they drank it, some of the pain seemed to fade. Finally, Rose looked up. "What's your name?

"Alta." Rose was about to ask another question when a bell began to toll, it's clear, ringing notes sounding clearly through the forest. "What's that?"

Alta turned to face them. "The preparations for Bria to rest have been made. Come, it's time to go." Without a word, they followed her out of the hut and through the forest.

Alta led them to a large clearing, all around were what appeared to be gravestones, but they were like no gravestones the companions had ever seen. The front was a sheet of what could almost have been black obsidian with silver etching on it. The rest of the stone was like a crystal full of shimmering colours that shifted and changed. "What is it?" the Doctor asked.

Alta smiled. "It's a stone only found on our home planet and only used to honour the dead." The smile faded as she came to a halt near a crowd of others. The companions moved to join her, as they neared, the crowd parted, allowing them through. In the centre was a bier, lined with velvet. On it lay Bria. Her long hair had been combed and fanned out around her shoulders. They had clothed her in a long silk gown of deepest red, trimmed with gold. Beside her, lay a pair of golden sai blades, glinting in the evening sun.

As they looked at her peaceful face, each of the companions silently bid her farewell. The Doctor briefly touched her hand; sending one last message from his mind _Goodbye Bria, find Elysium. Thank you for the knowledge of her._

Jack moved forwards, fighting back tears. Gently he caressed Bria's soft cheek once more. Placing a tender kiss on her fore head, he moved back to join the other companions.

Rose stood silently, thanking Bria for her help. Silently she gripped the Doctor's hand and clasping Jack's as he moved back to stand beside her.

The Vrexians gently lowered Bria into the deep grave beside the bier; one of the women moved forward and sprinkled something over the grave from a stone urn. The companions watched as earth and roots began to move to fill the grave as though of their own accord. When the grave had filled and settled, the Vrexians began to sing; their voices rose in a song both beautiful and haunting, it washed over the companions, filling them with a sense of peace.

When the song had finished, the companions turned from the grave, each filled with a sense of readiness to face the world again. After thanking the Vrexians, they turned to walk back to the TARDIS, each one taking a last look back.

Before the Doctor turned away for the last time, he read the writing on Bria's headstone; _Bria, honourable warrior_. As he read it, the writing on the stone next to it caught his eye; _Elysium, warrior child of time._

The Doctor smiled and headed towards the TARDIS, a final whisper from Bria echoing in his head. _Together at last._

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**A/N: Well there you have it, the end, done, finito. Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review, it doesn't take long.**_  
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